The whole world hates Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs

America’s global trading partners expressed outrage Friday after Donald Trump slapped steep new tariffs on steel and aluminum, a move that’s spooked markets and sparked fears of a global trade war.

Trump signed two proclamations at the White House Thursday placing a 25 percent duty on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminium, to come into effect in 15 days.

Surrounded by workers from the two metal industries, Trump framed the move as a national security concern, saying: “A strong steel and aluminum industry are vital to our national security – absolutely vital. Steel is steel, you don't have steel you don't have a country.”

Canada and Mexico will initially be exempt, as they continue to renegotiate the NAFTA free trade agreement, while U.S. officials said other allies will be able to apply for alternative arrangements for similar exemptions.

But that’s done little to mollify the U.S.’s major trading partners, who say their exports to the U.S. pose no threat to the country’s national security. Allies and rivals alike protested the new measures, with some vowing to contest them at the World Trade Organization, or indicating they would impose retaliatory measures of their own.

China, the world’s biggest exporter, responded angrily, saying it would likely retaliate. Saying it was “firmly opposed” to the tariffs, China’s Commerce Ministry called them “a serious attack on normal international trade order.” Ministry official Wang Hejun vowed Friday that China would take “firm actions” if Chinese businesses were affected.

Japan, a key Asian ally, called the decision “regrettable,” with its Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying it “might impact the economy and the cooperative relationship between Japan and the U.S.”

South Korea, another crucial trading and military partner in Asia, said it would “actively respond” to the tariffs and challenge their legality of the tariffs at the World Trade Organization. It also said it would actively chase an exemption from the tariffs. Trade Minister Paik Un-gyu conveyed his “displeasure” at the tariffs, calling them “unjust.”

The European Union has also said it will challenge the legality of the tariffs at the WTO, and threatened to respond with tariffs of its own on American goods including bourbon, denim, and motorbikes. European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström tweeted that as “close ally” of the U.S., the bloc should be granted an exemption, and that she would seek more clarity on the issue.

Britain said it would work with the E.U. to get an exemption, while “robustly” supporting its industries. Trade Secretary Liam Fox said he would actively lobby for an exemption during a trip to washington next week.

France’s Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said that his government regretted the move, and warned that there were “only losers” in a trade war.

In Australia, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said his government would be “relentless” in pursuing an exemption, and said that Washington could have no complaint about the nature of their trading relationship.

Even Canada, granted an exemption to the new measures, vowed to continue to push Washington to drop the tariffs.

Cover image: Surrounded by steel and aluminum workers, U.S. President Donald Trump signs a 'Section 232 Proclamation' on steel imports during a ceremony in Roosevelt Room the the White House March 8, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)