Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev asked his Ministry of Economic Development Wednesday to come up with ideas for retaliatory tariffs in response to U.S. tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum.
[Medvedev]'s statement comes amid increasing concern that U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs would set off a global trade war. Already, the European Union and China have proposed or enacted retaliatory tariffs, including the EU's duties on $3.4 billion of U.S. products, which went into effect earlier this month in response to Mr. Trump's tariffs of 25 percent on EU steel and 10 percent on aluminum.
Medvedev said: "These measures have a discriminatory character. They cannot remain without consequences. The European Union, China, and we need to think about response measures."
The U.S. goods targeted by the EU include typical American products like bourbon, peanut butter, and orange juice, in a way that seems designed to create political pressure on U.S. President Donald Trump and senior U.S. politicians. Europeans claim the Trump administration's tariffs on steel and aluminum break global trade rules.
Russia calls for retaliation against U.S. steel, aluminum tariffs (CBS News)