Trouble A-Brewin'

Hey look! The administration is setting off a trade war with our closest ally in the whole wide world. As regular readers of this blog hopefully know, the President Bush enacted "emergency" steel tariffs last year to protect American steel industry from so-called unfair competition from foreign firms. This protectionist measure has hurt the British Steel industry and now that the WTO has declared that the sanctions were illegal, one of Tony Blair's political allies is striking back against Bush.

From the Guardian

On the eve of Mr Bush's state visit to Britain, Mr Byers, an arch-Blairite, will set out proposals to help Democrats in key swing states if the White House refuses to abandon punitive trade sanctions against the UK.

Acting with the tacit approval of Blair supporters, who were enraged when Mr Bush imposed tariffs on imports of British steel to shore up his vote, the former trade and industry secretary will call for sanctions to be imposed on four key marginal states which the president will need to win.

The states - and the exports to be targeted - are:

· Florida and its citrus products. The state was the scene of the "hanging chad" saga in the 2000 presidential election, after Mr Bush and Al Gore virtually tied there;
· Wisconsin and its apples and paper. Mr Gore won this state by a tiny margin;
· Tennessee and its chemicals. Mr Bush scored a narrow victory in Mr Gore's home state;
· Iowa and its agricultural equipment. This state will play a key role when the nominations battle starts in January.

Mr Byers also calls for tariffs to be imposed on exports of textiles, which would hit states across the American south.

I'm not sure if this will have any impact on American politics, but it shows just how truly stupid these tariffs are and how frustrated foreigners are becoming with the current Party in Power and its poll driven policies. The Bushies don't seem content with the damage the steel tariff has caused, either. Now its being alleged that the United States has also been encouraging multinationals to move their British operations to America.

Yep, alienating your must loyal strategic partner in the whole world for short-term domestic political game. These are on the ball,day and night with no breaks.