Hewitt joins in EU steel tit-for-tat

The US and the European Union moved closer to full scale trade war last night after Britain and Germany caved in to pressure from the rest of Europe and agreed to back tit-for-tat retaliation against US steel tariffs.
In a hardhitting statement, the European commission said it had unanimous support of the 15 member states in its plan to impose punitive duties on goods from sensitive Republican states.

Europe's counterstrike could come as early as next month, despite the fears of Britain and Germany that raising the temperature in the transatlantic battle could prove counter-productive at a time when the global economy is struggling.

Department of Trade and Industry sources said last month that there was "not very much benefit from a tit-for-tat approach".

In return for backing the commission's tough stance, the trade secretary, Patricia Hewitt, has successfully removed brown rice, ballpoint pens, pink grapefruit, Harley-Davidson motorbikes and several other goods from the list of American exports which Europe plans to target.