European industry and workers will suffer from Trump tariffs, and the American working class will pay for it.

From the European Parliament in Strasbourg today, Left MEPs warned about the impact the trade war with the United States will have on the working class on both sides of the Atlantic as President Trump prepares to detail new trade levies on imported goods. 

While tariffs can often be a useful instrument for defending European industries and workers from the vagaries of vulture capitalism, Donald Trump’s erratic approach has been that of a hammer rather than a scalpel.

European industries will suffer as a result of tariffs, while on the other side of the Atlantic, the American working class will see their cost of living increase and less cash in their pockets at the end of the month. The Left warned today that any responses from the EU must be targeted at billionaires and opportunists like Elon Musk who are pulling the strings behind the scenes in Washington DC. 

Co-chair of The Left, Martin Schirdewan (Die Linke, Germany) said “The working class are always the first to suffer in war, and a trade war is no different. Trump’s tariffs will hurt European industry and the American working class first and foremost. While the EU must react with our own trade measures, we need targeted tariffs that hit Trump’s allies and the American oligarchs who are enriching themselves at the expense of workers.”