Well that didn't last long.

When Trump said that the USA would introduce tariffs on steel and aluminium*, applying the usual protectionist-mercantilist-socialist-populist logic, right thinking people everywhere were up in arms.

* Given the tortuous nature of US lawmaking, it is as yet unknown whether it will actually happen and when. Interestingly, it appears that the idea is not too popular with the majority Republican congressmen and -women, but has widespread support among the minority Democrats, go figure.

Give it a couple of days and how does Juncker, claiming to speak on behalf of the EU (again, whether he has the authority to impose this or not is another question), respond?

By threatening that ‘the EU’ would engage in tit-for-tat protectionist-etc nonsense, at which, Trump merely upped the ante.

Free trade my left foot, remind me, how would the UK benefit by remaining an EU Member State and being dragged into all this? What happened to that much vaunted EU-US free trade deal that we were going to miss out on if we left?

AFAIC, the USA’s loss is every other net steel-importing countries’ gain, such as, for example, the UK. All things being equal, world steel prices will fall slightly as will world prices for “Levi’s jeans, bourbon and Harley-Davidsons”. That looks likes a win-win for any country that is neither the USA, a member state of the EU nor a net steel exporter.