The anti-american alliance is meeting in Geneva to join forces in the fight against a looming car ta

An international conference against the launch of a trade war by the trump administration will take place today in Geneva, Switzerland, among America's closest Allies: Japan, South Korea, Canada, Mexico and the European Union. The countries are rallying against the us because a us investigation into whether imports of cars and parts threaten us national security, which began in May, could be completed in August, with the White House likely to impose a 25 per cent punitive tariff on all imports of cars and parts. If America's previous trade war on steel and aluminium has alarmed many of its Allies, a $500 billion-plus car tariff is bound to tear them apart and punch them in the face.
Since Mr Trump came to power, America's Allies have mostly chosen to swallow their anger over the issue of "money", a rare public "anti-americanism" conference, because almost all countries have been at loggerheads about it. As the us mid-term elections enter the 100-day countdown, the trump administration's foreign policy is likely to become increasingly extreme and outrageous in its pursuit of "America first", which is bound to trigger a backlash and is expected to see more "insurrection" from us Allies.
Geneva is the world trade organization's headquarters, which means Japan, South Korea, Canada, Mexico and the European Union will fight the United States through the wto if the United States imposes tariffs on imported cars, German news TV reported Wednesday. The meeting was also intended to demonstrate solidarity and support for the wto. If the us persists in imposing tariffs, these countries could form a coalition to support multilateral agreements and oppose the us. On the same day, the German website caijing stressed that the message from the Geneva gathering was a "mistrust of the European Union's commitment" to Mr Trump, following last week's announcement of a trade truce between the us and Europe.
The "anti-americanism" of these countries has already begun. German foreign minister Thomas maas, who visited Japan last week, has invited Japan to join the opposition to the us tax on cars, saying the Japanese and German cooperation could allow the us to partially withdraw from the world stage, the sankei shimbun reported Wednesday. Mr Mas told Japanese officials that the protectionism and "us first" policies of the trump administration were creating problems for the two countries and "now we have to question the alliance that has been built for decades". South Korea's trade minister, Kim hyun-jong, met his Canadian counterpart, John friedland, in Ottawa last week to demand "cooperation of major stakeholders" in the us investigation into car imports, Reuters reported.
The Geneva meeting, attended by deputy ministers from Japan, Japan, Canada and Mexico as well as European Union countries, was preliminary but could lead to a joint response by car producers outside the United States to the punitive tariffs that trump has threatened, the Canadian news agency said Thursday. According to Canada's globe and mail newspaper, it is seeking a "united front". South Korea's yonhap news agency said Wednesday that a joint WTO case against the United States is likely to be put on the agenda of the Geneva meeting on March 31. The frankfurter allgemeine zeitung, a German newspaper, commented that Mr Trump wanted to disrupt the world order. So what? Countries will unite to protect international organizations and international rules.
The urgency of these countries can be imagined. U.S. commerce secretary rose said last week that an investigation into whether imports of cars and parts threaten U.S. national security could be completed in August. A 20 percent tariff on Japanese cars would cost Japan 4 trillion yen and depress the economy in many parts of Japan, the daily news reported Thursday. South Korea's ministry of finance on Wednesday released a report on the world economic trend, stressing that the trade war against China, the high steel tariffs imposed by the United States, the mid-term elections of the U.S. congress and the security investigation of imported cars by the United States are the most important threats to the world economy in the second half of this year. At the heart of South Korea's response to international trade friction in the next phase will be the us investigation into imported cars.
Chen fengying, a researcher at the China institute of modern international relations, told the global times on Wednesday that the us and these countries are likely to fight a tariff war on cars, because the us needs to use tariffs on cars and parts without overwhelming its Allies with steel and aluminium. Facing the United States, she said, these countries are "huddled together for warmth."
If the car tariff war were to break out across the board, there would be blood between the us and its Allies. The U.S. imported about $360 billion in cars and parts in 2017, according to official U.S. statistics, and exported about $160 billion of cars and parts that year. The eu's retaliatory tax rate is reportedly on par with the us, while Japan is pinning its hopes on Mr Abe's personal relationship with Mr Trump.