EU’s latest trade moves of no help to this country

The devil is always in the detail, particularly where trade wars are concerned.

The EU’s decision, last week, to begin charging 25% import duties on a wide range of US products in retaliation to Donald Trump’s introduction of tariffs on EU steel and aluminium earlier this month is a typical case.

The EU is targeting €2.8bn worth of goods which are imported from the US with new import tariffs — adding 10%-50% onto their cost when entering Ireland or any other EU country.