Gary Cohn is leading a last-ditch effort against President Donald Trump’s plan to put modest tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.

Cohn is attempting to organize a “summit” of business leaders opposed to the tariffs, according to a person familiar with the matter. Executives at companies that use the metals to build their products, including automakers and other manufacturing companies, have expressed a desire to meet with Trump to head off the tariffs.

Trump, however, is standing by his call for the tariffs. On Monday, the president said “we’re not backing down” on the plan to put a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and a 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum.

Trump’s tariffs announcement last week was a major setback for Cohn, who Trump refers to as “globalist Gary” in private conversations. Cohn has fought tariff plans for months, combating administration officials such as trade adviser Peter Navarro and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross who think the U.S. must do more to protect its economy from predatory policies of foreign countries, particularly China.

But those internal battles took on even more urgency and became more heated in recent weeks after the Commerce Department published the findings of its Section 232 investigations. Those probes found that foreign imports of steel and aluminum were such a burden on domestic producers of the metals that they are creating a threat to national security. It recommended a variety of trade sanctions to protect the ability of the U.S. to maintain domestic steel and aluminum production.

Cohn no longer believes it is possible to stop the tariffs altogether, one person familiar with the matter told Breitbart News. Now efforts are aimed at narrowing the scope of the tariffs, focusing them more closely on “bad actors” such as China.

Similar efforts are underway on Capitol Hill. House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Tuesday that he would urge the president to adopt a “more surgical” approach to tariffs and to specifically address China and other abusers of global trade rules.

Many conservatives and Republicans remain wedded to a very ideological view of global trade and have knee-jerk reactions to proposals to restrict trade or impose sanctions, even when those may be necessary for national security. Club for Growth, a conservative pro-free market group, has warned that tariffs will hurt the economy. Sen. Mike Lee, the Utah Republican, is pushing a bill to limit the president’s ability to impose tariffs.

Republican presidential primary voters in 2015 rejected nearly a score of candidates who held pro-free trade views, favoring the economic nationalist policies advocated by Donald Trump. Proponents of the tariffs point out that failing to live up Trump’s promises on trade would hurt the Republican party in the midterm elections and possibly endanger Trump’s chances of being re-elected in 2020.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump faced growing pressure on Monday from political and diplomatic allies as well as U.S. companies urging him to pull back from proposed steel and aluminum tariffs, although he said he would stick to his guns.

Inside the White House, there still appeared to be confusion about the timing and extent of the planned tariffs, which would hit allies like Canada and Mexico hard.

Efforts by Trump and U.S. trade negotiators to link the NAFTA trade pact talks to the duties received short shrift from Ottawa and Mexico City.

Leading Republicans turned up the pressure on Trump, with House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan leading the charge. Ryan’s home state of Wisconsin would be hit by proposed European counter-measures on Harley Davidson motorbikes.

Representative Kevin Brady, another top House Republican, called on Trump not to hit America’s closest allies.

The planned tariffs have roiled world stock markets as investors worried about the prospect of an escalating trade war that would derail global economic growth. Stocks across the globe rose on Monday, however, after four days in decline as investors saw the tariff threats as a U.S. negotiating tactic and not a done deal and as pressure grew on Trump to back off.

“We’re not backing down,” Trump said during a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “I don’t think you’re going to have a trade war,” he added, without elaborating.

Earlier comments from Trump had stoked talk of a global trade war as he described them as easy to win and issued a threat to German carmakers. One of those, BMW, runs a plant in the United States that is the largest single autos exporter in the country and has created thousands of jobs.

Most responses to Trump’s proposed tariffs have been targeted. The European Union said it would hit Harleys, bourbon and jeans, iconic American products. It did not threaten to ramp up the issue.

China has been largely mum, urging caution, and both Canada and Mexico have stressed the targeted nature of any response.

Trump was expected to finalize the planned tariffs later in the week, although some observers familiar with the process said it could occur next week. The initial announcement by Trump last week came as a surprise.

The United States, Mexico and Canada have been holding talks over changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement, a pact that Trump has threatened to abandon.

Six months of tense talks have produced little in the way of progress and a move by Washington to link the steel and aluminum tariffs to progress on NAFTA was rebuffed by Canada and Mexico.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer also attempted to drive a wedge between Canada and Mexico when he suggested the United States would be willing to hold bilateral, rather than trilateral talks. The two countries again stood firm.

In Washington, aides scrambled to meet Trump’s demand for the paperwork to be completed for a formal announcement. The exact timing was unclear as the tariff documentation had to be drafted and go through a variety of reviews, a process that takes days, an administration official said.

There was always a chance that Trump “could amend his initial announcement” to take account of the concerns expressed about it, said a source familiar with the internal debate at the White House.

Trump has frequently talked tough on trade, although his actions have not always matched his words. On his first day in office in January 2017, he withdrew from the 14-nation Trans Pacific Partnership agreement, a deal that was dead on arrival in the U.S. Congress in any case.

He has frequently tweeted and said that he would pull out of NAFTA, which he has called a jobs killer. But a year after taking office, the 1994 deal remains intact.

Trump has approved a series of small-scale trade actions, of which the steel and aluminum duties would be a part. Taken together with actions on washing machines and solar panels, the proposed move accounts for just 4.1 percent of U.S. imports. In terms of global trade, they are just 0.6 percent, investment bank Morgan Stanley said in a report.

The head of the World Trade Organization warned of a real risk of triggering an escalation of global trade barriers and a deep recession, even as financial markets and many economists started to discount the risk of a global crisis.

“We must make every effort to avoid the fall of the first dominoes. There is still time,” WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo told the heads of WTO delegations at a closed-door meeting in Geneva.</s>Trade is the lifeblood of the global economy, the single biggest driver of prosperity and a vital means of maintaining peaceful relations between countries.

It is also the latest victim of Donald Trump’s nationalist ideology.

Last week, the President shocked global markets by using a “national security” loophole in WTO rules to propose steep tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium to the US.

Read more: Trade war looms as EU readies retaliation over US' tariff move

History has taught us how trade wars work. The first leader to impose tariffs may think they are protecting jobs in their country, but they soon find other nations retaliating, hitting exporters and crippling other industries. That’s not to mention the blow to domestic consumers and manufacturers requiring the imported goods, who see prices skyrocket. In the case of steel tariffs, US car-makers and industrial firms immediately saw their shares drop, while business groups slammed the President’s decision.

Unfazed by the backlash, Trump doubled down, tweeting on Friday that “trade wars are good, and easy to win”. He may be about to find out how wrong he is. Yesterday, the EU hit back, with trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom threatening EU tariffs on US imports of Levi jeans and bourbon.

At the heart of the protectionist ideology is a fundamental misapprehension that trade is a zero-sum game. America as a whole does not suffer if it imports more from China than it exports there – certain industries may deteriorate, but others will benefit from cheaper goods and thrive. Conversely, protectionist policies are as detrimental to the country imposing them as they are to those on the receiving end, and have the potential to knock trillions of dollars off the global economy.

We should not be surprised by Trump’s antics. From the launch of his presidential campaign to his recent speech in Davos, his mantra has been “America first”, while he has promised to punish other countries for “unfair” trade practices. But the fact that it was foreseeable does not make it any less alarming.

There is a reason we call this looming scenario a trade “war”. Trump’s disdain for trade norms represents a complex and unedifying challenge for the global economy. His rants against imports are just as damaging as his online feuds with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. There is a dangerous risk of escalation, as we have already seen from the EU.

Politically, Brussels' response is understandable. However, when it meets tomorrow it should consider the benefits of staying on the moral high ground. A race to the bottom helps no one, and if the US wants to shoot itself in the foot – then so be it. Now is the time for leaders who understand the critical importance of trade to hold their nerve.

Read more: DEBATE: Is there any justification for Trump’s steel imports?</s>U.S. President Donald Trump faced growing pressure on Monday from political and diplomatic allies as well as U.S. companies urging him to pull back from proposed steel and aluminum tariffs, although he said he would stick to his guns. Inside the White House, there still appeared to be confusion about the timing and extent of the planned tariffs, which would hit allies like Canada and Mexico hard.

Efforts by Trump and U.S. trade negotiators to link the NAFTA trade pact talks to the duties received short shrift from Ottawa and Mexico City.

 Leading Republicans turned up the pressure on Trump, with House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan leading the charge. Ryan’s home state of Wisconsin would be hit by proposed European counter-measures on Harley-Davidson Inc motorbikes.

Representative Kevin Brady, another top House Republican, called on Trump not to hit America’s closest allies. Business leaders are pressing for a meeting with Trump to brief him on the negative repercussions of the tariffs on companies that use steel and aluminum, a source familiar with the matter said.

A meeting had not yet been set up, the source said. The White House had no comment. The planned tariffs have roiled world stock markets as investors worried about the prospect of an escalating trade war that would derail global economic growth. Stocks across the globe rose on Monday, however, after four days in decline as investors saw the tariff threats as a U.S. negotiating tactic and not a done deal and as pressure grew on Trump to back off.

“We’re not backing down,” Trump said during a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “I don’t think you’re going to have a trade war,” he added, without elaborating. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Trump on Monday to tell him the tariffs would be an impediment to talks on updating NAFTA, a Canadian government official said.

Canada is the single largest supplier of steel and aluminum to the United States. In the call, Trudeau “forcefully defended” Canadian workers and industries, said the official, describing the conversation as constructive. Earlier comments from Trump had stoked talk of a global trade war as he described them as easy to win and issued a threat to German carmakers. One of those, BMW, runs a plant in the United States that is the largest single autos exporter in the country and has created thousands of jobs.

Most responses to Trump’s proposed tariffs have been targeted. The European Union said it would hit Harleys, bourbon and jeans, iconic American products. It did not threaten to ramp up the issue. China has been largely mum, urging caution, and both Canada and Mexico have stressed the targeted nature of any response.

Trump was expected to finalize the planned tariffs later in the week, although some observers familiar with the process said it could occur next week. The initial announcement by Trump last week came as a surprise.

The United States, Mexico and Canada have been holding talks over changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement, a pact that Trump has threatened to abandon. Six months of tense talks have produced little in the way of progress and a move by Washington to link the steel and aluminum tariffs to progress on NAFTA was rebuffed by Canada and Mexico.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer also attempted to drive a wedge between Canada and Mexico when he suggested the United States would be willing to hold bilateral, rather than trilateral talks. The two countries again stood firm. In Washington, aides scrambled to meet Trump’s demand for the paperwork to be completed for a formal announcement. The exact timing was unclear as the tariff documentation had to be drafted and go through a variety of reviews, a process that takes days, an administration official said.

There was always a chance that Trump ”could amend his initial announcement” to take account of the concerns expressed about it, said a source familiar with the internal debate at the White House.

Trump has frequently talked tough on trade, although his actions have not always matched his words. On his first day in office in January 2017, he withdrew from the 14-nation Trans Pacific Partnership agreement, a deal that was dead on arrival in the U.S. Congress in any case. He has frequently tweeted and said that he would pull out of NAFTA, which he has called a jobs killer. But a year after taking office, the 1994 deal remains intact.

Trump has approved a series of small-scale trade actions, of which the steel and aluminum duties would be a part. Taken together with actions on washing machines and solar panels, the proposed move accounts for just 4.1 percent of U.S. imports. In terms of global trade, they are just 0.6 percent, investment bank Morgan Stanley said in a report.

The head of the World Trade Organization warned of a real risk of triggering an escalation of global trade barriers and a deep recession, even as financial markets and many economists started to discount the risk of a global crisis. “We must make every effort to avoid the fall of the first dominoes. There is still time,” WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo told the heads of WTO delegations at a closed-door meeting in Geneva.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App

Get assembly election result LIVE updates from each constituency in Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya</s>Republicans have raised concern about the US president's plan to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium, with the party's top lawmaker calling for it to be scrapped.

Photo: AFP

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that steel imports would face a 25 percent tariff and aluminium 10 percent.

US Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said he was "extremely worried" about the impact of a trade war, adding that it could undermine economic gains.

But Mr Trump pushed back during a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"We're not backing down," he told reporters on Monday. "I don't think you're going to have a trade war."

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Monday that Mr Trump was "very confident" the US would win any trade war.

Mr Trump's Monday comments came an hour after Mr Ryan released a statement urging the White House to reconsider its plan.

"We are extremely worried about the consequences of a trade war and are urging the White House to not advance with this plan," Mr Ryan's spokeswoman AshLee Strong said.

"The new tax reform law has boosted the economy and we certainly don't want to jeopardise those gains."

Mr Trump's announcement last week that he would tax imported steel and aluminium has prompted worldwide reaction.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) on Monday also called on member states to "stop the fall of the first dominoes" of a trade war.

"Once we start down this path it will be very difficult to reverse direction," WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo told negotiators in Geneva on Monday. "An eye for an eye will leave us all blind and the world in a deep recession."

What does Trump want to do and why?

Earlier on Monday, Mr Trump hinted that if the US achieved a better deal for itself in the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) he would abandon plans for tariffs on US neighbours.

Those tariffs could be removed for Canada and Mexico if they signed a "new and fair" agreement, he suggested.

The current round of Nafta talks, which focus on updating the 24-year old treaty, are due to finish on Monday and have achieved little.

Mr Trump has decried the US trade deficit with other countries, which he has blamed on "very stupid trade deals and policies".

He issued a threat against EU-made cars on Saturday, which he repeated during his Oval Office meeting with the Israeli prime minister on Monday.

"They have trade barriers that are worse than tariffs. They also have tariffs by the way, but they have trade barriers far worse than tariffs."

"And if they want to do something we'll just tax their cars that they send in here like water," he vowed.

-BBC</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump faced growing pressure on Monday from political and diplomatic allies as well as U.S. companies urging him to pull back from proposed steel and aluminum tariffs, although he said he would stick to his guns.

Inside the White House, there still appeared to be confusion about the timing and extent of the planned tariffs, which would hit allies like Canada and Mexico hard.

Efforts by Trump and U.S. trade negotiators to link the NAFTA trade pact talks to the duties received short shrift from Ottawa and Mexico City.

Leading Republicans turned up the pressure on Trump, with House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan leading the charge. Ryan’s home state of Wisconsin would be hit by proposed European counter-measures on Harley-Davidson Inc motorbikes.

Representative Kevin Brady, another top House Republican, called on Trump not to hit America’s closest allies.

Business leaders are pressing for a meeting with Trump to brief him on the negative repercussions of the tariffs on companies that use steel and aluminum, a source familiar with the matter said.

A meeting had not yet been set up, the source said. The White House had no comment.

The planned tariffs have roiled world stock markets as investors worried about the prospect of an escalating trade war that would derail global economic growth. Stocks across the globe rose on Monday, however, after four days in decline as investors saw the tariff threats as a U.S. negotiating tactic and not a done deal and as pressure grew on Trump to back off.

“We’re not backing down,” Trump said during a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “I don’t think you’re going to have a trade war,” he added, without elaborating.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Trump on Monday to tell him the tariffs would be an impediment to talks on updating NAFTA, a Canadian government official said.

Canada is the single largest supplier of steel and aluminum to the United States. In the call, Trudeau “forcefully defended” Canadian workers and industries, said the official, describing the conversation as constructive.

Earlier comments from Trump had stoked talk of a global trade war as he described them as easy to win and issued a threat to German carmakers. One of those, BMW, runs a plant in the United States that is the largest single autos exporter in the country and has created thousands of jobs.

Most responses to Trump’s proposed tariffs have been targeted. The European Union said it would hit Harleys, bourbon and jeans, iconic American products. It did not threaten to ramp up the issue.

China has been largely mum, urging caution, and both Canada and Mexico have stressed the targeted nature of any response.

Trump was expected to finalize the planned tariffs later in the week, although some observers familiar with the process said it could occur next week. The initial announcement by Trump last week came as a surprise.

The United States, Mexico and Canada have been holding talks over changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement, a pact that Trump has threatened to abandon.

Six months of tense talks have produced little in the way of progress and a move by Washington to link the steel and aluminum tariffs to progress on NAFTA was rebuffed by Canada and Mexico.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer also attempted to drive a wedge between Canada and Mexico when he suggested the United States would be willing to hold bilateral, rather than trilateral talks. The two countries again stood firm.

In Washington, aides scrambled to meet Trump’s demand for the paperwork to be completed for a formal announcement. The exact timing was unclear as the tariff documentation had to be drafted and go through a variety of reviews, a process that takes days, an administration official said.

There was always a chance that Trump “could amend his initial announcement” to take account of the concerns expressed about it, said a source familiar with the internal debate at the White House.

Trump has frequently talked tough on trade, although his actions have not always matched his words. On his first day in office in January 2017, he withdrew from the 14-nation Trans Pacific Partnership agreement, a deal that was dead on arrival in the U.S. Congress in any case.

He has frequently tweeted and said that he would pull out of NAFTA, which he has called a jobs killer. But a year after taking office, the 1994 deal remains intact.

Trump has approved a series of small-scale trade actions, of which the steel and aluminum duties would be a part. Taken together with actions on washing machines and solar panels, the proposed move accounts for just 4.1 percent of U.S. imports. In terms of global trade, they are just 0.6 percent, investment bank Morgan Stanley said in a report.

The head of the World Trade Organization warned of a real risk of triggering an escalation of global trade barriers and a deep recession, even as financial markets and many economists started to discount the risk of a global crisis.

“We must make every effort to avoid the fall of the first dominoes. There is still time,” WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo told the heads of WTO delegations at a closed-door meeting in Geneva.</s>President Donald Trump on Friday defended his controversial plan to slap huge tariffs on imported steel and aluminum amid intense GOP criticism and a growing global backlash, saying "trade wars are good, and easy to win" as international markets braced for more losses.

“When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win,” Trump tweeted early Friday. “Example, when we are down $100 billion with a certain country and they get cute, don’t trade anymore — we win big. It’s easy!”

A short time later, he returned to add, “We must protect our country and our workers.”

“Our steel industry is in bad shape. IF YOU DON’T HAVE STEEL, YOU DON’T HAVE A COUNTRY!” he said.

Trump’s morning tweets were in reference to his announcement Thursday that the U.S. would levy tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on imported aluminum — a move that prompted fierce criticism from Republicans in Congress and dire warnings of retaliation from the country's trading partners, as well as led markets to tank.

Key players on Capitol Hill, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the Senate Finance Committee chairman, were not given any heads up about Trump’s tariff announcement, and many broke ranks with Trump in an unprecedented way, with one after another coming forward during the day to caution about the dangers of tariffs and plead with Trump to hold off on any action.

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., slammed Trump's concept of a "good" trade war in a statement Friday, and said fighting one would only lead to "so much losing."

"Trade wars are never won. Trade wars are lost by both sides. Kooky 18th century protectionism will jack up prices on American families — and will prompt retaliation from other countries," Sasse said. "Make no mistake: If the president goes through with this, it will kill American jobs — that's what every trade war ultimately does. So much losing."

Canada, a close U.S. ally and large trading partner, said Thursday that it viewed "any trade restrictions on Canadian steel and aluminum as absolutely unacceptable." The nation’s minister of foreign affairs warned that her country could “take responsive measures to defend its trade interests and workers."

The prospects of a trade war pushed the Dow down over 400 points at the close of trading on Thursday — and the decline continued into Friday’s session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by more than 300 points, or 1.2 percent, in morning trading, before rallying to end the day down 0.3 percent. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes both closed the day in positive territory after suffering losses earlier.

Trump's decision, however, earned praise from at least one corner.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who has been a proponent of tariffs and helped engineer the meeting that led to Trump's surprise announcement on the actions, told CNBC that the controversy surrounding the tariffs was just "hysteria" and "a lot to do about nothing."

In an unusual interview with the network that involved props, Ross, holding up at one point a can of Campbell's Soup and at another point a can of Coca-Cola, claimed that the potential price increases on consumer products that could result from the steel and aluminum tariffs would be "no big deal."

"Well I just bought this can today at a 7-Eleven down here, and the price was $1.99, so who in the world is going to be too bothered by six-tenths of a cent?" he said, holding up the Campbell's can.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, in brief comments to reporters Friday morning, acknowledged that some details still "needed to be finalized" on the plan, but said Trump remained "pretty committed" to his announcement.

When asked about Trump's supporting the idea of a trade war on Twitter, Sanders replied that the "president is still focused on long-term economic fundamentals" and "incredibly focused on the American worker and feels like both the steel and aluminum industry are both the backbone of this country."

She also dismissed reports that Gary Cohn, the White House’s top economic adviser, could leave his position in protest of the administration's tariff plan.

“I don’t have any reason to think otherwise right now,” she said, when asked whether Cohn would leave.</s>If U.S. President Donald Trump goes ahead with sweeping tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, it could lower profits for companies making everything from pickup trucks to canned soup, or result in higher prices for consumers.

 Trump has threatened a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum, without exemptions for any countries.

 Analysts caution that the Trump administration’s plan lacks details, but say tariffs would hurt manufacturers.

 “Domestic producers of steel would make more money, while domestic consumers of steel would make less money,” said Steve DuBuc, a director at consulting firm AlixPartners’ automotive and industrial practice, noting that U.S. steel makers will“have increased pricing power” as steel imports become more expensive.

 And because most aluminum is imported, costs would rise.

 Polaris Industries Inc (PII.N), a manufacturer of snowmobiles, off-road vehicles and motorcycles, spends more than $300 million annually on steel and aluminum. Chief Executive Officer Scott Wine said tariffs would raise its costs around 1 percent, which is“quite manageable.”

 But he said Polaris would then have to“mitigate the inevitable price increases from our domestic steel suppliers.”

 U.S. automakers stand to be among the most impacted. The sector accounted for 26 percent of U.S. steel demand in 2017, behind the construction industry’s 40 percent, according to data provider Statista.

 Even before Trump’s announcement, Ford Motor Co (F.N) was struggling with higher commodity costs.

 In January the No. 2 U.S. automaker said higher steel and aluminum costs would hurt 2018 profits, and it blamed a poor fourth-quarter profit in part on higher commodity costs.

 Appearing on CNBC on Friday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said tariffs would have a“trivial effect.” He said the one ton of steel used per vehicle, at $700 per ton (0.907 metric tonnes), would have little impact on vehicle costs.

 But the picture of steel costs for automakers is more complicated.

 Steel is around $700 per ton because prices have already risen $100 per ton this year largely in anticipation of tariffs.

 According to research and consulting firm Ducker Worldwide-FSG, the average U.S. vehicle weighs in at 3,835 pounds (1.9 tons) and is 11 percent aluminum (422 pounds) and 54 percent steel (2,071 pounds, around a ton).

 But producing parts leads to scrap wastage, so Ducker estimates automakers need 526 pounds of aluminum and 2,925 pounds of steel to make the average vehicle.

 Automakers also use more expensive high-strength aluminum and steel alloys.

 Jeff Schuster, head of forecasting at consultancy LMC Automotive, said automakers, already struggling with declining sales, would have to choose between lower margins or lower sales.

 “I don’t think there would be much appetite to absorb the added cost, nor do I think the consumer is interested in doing so either,” he said. He says it would create“a stalemate and likely lead to a sales decline.”

 In a client note, Buckingham Research Group analyst Joseph Amaturo wrote that tariffs could add $300 per vehicle, and cited Ford and rival General Motors Co (GM.N) being at risk for a bite to their profits.

 For heavy equipment manufacturers Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N) and Deere & Co (DE.N), steel is the biggest contributor to raw material costs.

 According to a JP Morgan analysis, the threatened tariffs could dent Caterpillar and Deere’s fiscal 2019 earnings per share by 6 percent and 9 percent, respectively.

 Tariffs could also affect the food you eat. Edward Jones analyst Brittany Weissman said the aluminum tariff would raise packaging costs for beer brewers, with Molson Coors Brewing Co (TAP.N) likely heavily affected because the U.S. market is its largest.

 Weissman said Campbell Soup Co (CPB.N), which packages soups in tin-plated steel cans, would be affected by steel tariffs. John Mothersole, director of research at IHS Markit, said tariffs would lift aluminum can prices 6.7 percent in 2018 – versus an expected 2.3 percent hike excluding any tariffs.

 “How much of this increase would be passed along to final consumers is difficult to say,” Mothersole said. The tariffs are unlikely to significantly hurt Corporate America’s overall earnings, according to stock market strategists, who were not immediately adjusting their profit estimates following Trump’s announcement.

 “The impact on total corporate earnings first would be driven by the impact on the economy,” said Keith Parker, U.S. equity strategist for UBS.

 Since Wednesday before Trump’s announcement, the S&P 1500 construction machinery and heavy trucks index .SPCOMMCHD fell 4.4 percent and the S&P 1500 automobiles and components index .SPCOMAU dropped 3.4 percent as of mid-afternoon on Friday, underperforming a 1.4 percent decline for the overall S&P 500 .SPX.

 One fear among investors is that the tariffs are a first step toward a broader trade war, with other countries taking retaliatory measures, that strategists said would cause them to reevaluate their earnings estimates.

 You’re going to see an effect here, if they go through, but … this is not going to be the end of the world,” said Scott Wren, senior global equity strategist with the Wells Fargo Investment Institute in St. Louis.“If it does turn into a trade war, that’s a different story.”—Agencies</s>Senior Republican Paul Ryan has publicly urged Donald Trump to not proceed with proposed steel & aluminum tariffs, saying he is 'extremely worried' about the potential consequences.

Last week President Trump announced plans for a 25% tariff on steel imports and a 10% levy on aluminium, despite reports that his own advisers had urged him not to do so.

The US President said the move was in response to decades of "disgraceful" unfair trade policies.

He argued: "We must not let our country, companies and workers be taken advantage of any longer."

The move sparked immediate fears of a trade war amid indications that other countries could impose retaliatory trade barriers of their own.

President Trump himself took to Twitter to claim "trade wars are good".

The announcement saw world stock markets plunge, while many US commentators - including from President Trump's own party - raised concerns about potential higher costs for US manufacturers.

On Monday, House Speaker Paul Ryan became the most senior Republican critic of the plan.

In a statement quoted by US media outlets, Mr Ryan's spokesperson said: "We are extremely worried about the consequences of a trade war and are urging the White House to not advance with this plan.

"The new tax reform law has boosted the economy and we certainly don’t want to jeopardise those gains."

President Trump, meanwhile, has continued defending his plan.

In a tweet on Sunday, he argued: "We are on the losing side of almost all trade deals. Our friends and enemies have taken advantage of the U.S. for many years. Our Steel and Aluminum industries are dead. Sorry, it’s time for a change!"

The World Trade Organisation Director-General Roberto Azevêdo has urged countries to avoid an 'escalation of trade barriers'.

Addressing WTO members today, he argued: "We cannot ignore this risk and I urge all parties to consider and reflect on this situation very carefully. Once we start down this path, it will be very difficult to reverse direction.

"An eye for an eye will leave us all blind and the world in deep recession."

The threats of a trade war come as the US, Canada and Mexico continue their efforts to renegotiate the terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

On Monday, President Trump took to Twitter in an apparent effort to increase pressure on the USA's two neighbours.</s>WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Paul Ryan is raising concerns that President Donald Trump’s plan to impose new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports could start a trade war. The speaker is “extremely worried about the consequences” and is urging the White House “to not advance with this plan,” according to a statement issued by his office.

Ryan notes through his spokeswoman that the new tax overhaul “has boosted the economy and we certainly don’t want to jeopardize those gains.”

The statement from the top Republican in the House comes as the Trump administration is arguing that the tariffs are needed to preserve American steel and aluminum and warning that North American neighbors Canada and Mexico will not get any relief unless they agree to a fair trade deal.

Meanwhile, Republican leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee are circulating a letter opposing President Donald Trump’s announcement that he’ll boost tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.

Committee spokeswoman Lauren Aronson says the letter expresses lawmakers’ concerns about “the prospect of broad, global tariffs” on the two materials. Aronson says any tariffs should be aimed at “unfairly traded products.”

The letter doesn’t mention any countries as potential targets.

The letter says the administration and Congress should pursue trade policies that build off the economic momentum from the GOP-approved tax cuts and shouldn’t disrupt trade.

The letter was drafted by committee chairman Kevin Brady of Texas and Washington state’s Dave Reichert, who heads the panel’s trade subcommittee.
Republicans raise concern about U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to impose tariffs on metal imports. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan says he is "extremely worried" about the impact of a trade war, adding that it could "undermine economic gains".