The only major U.S. ally that did not receive exemptions from President Trump's steel and aluminum tariff decision (Japan), is considering slapping retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports worth $409M. According to public broadcaster NHK, the government is preparing to notify the World Trade Organization of the plan, a necessary procedure under global trade rules. The move couldn't come at a worse time, given that the US and its East Asian allies (Japan / South Korea) should be rallying together in a show of strength against North Korea, who threatened to pull out of the joint US/North Korea summit this week.
However, in a happier turn of events for Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel signaled the EU was willing to discuss reducing trade tariffs with the U.S. as she arrived at a summit of bloc leaders in Bulgaria today. Merkel said: "We are ready to talk how we can reciprocally reduce the barriers to trade." This could save the EU from tariffs, which are due to come into effect on June 1st unless a new arrangement is negotiated.
Via: https://invstr.com/