European leaders question US tariff plan

Even as US President Donald Trump encourages European leaders to support his position on setting higher tariffs against China, the bloc's leaders and academics said his administration's actions are "unwise" and will damage global free trade.

"We have taken notice of President Trump's decision to introduce tariffs on steel and aluminum products, and it is not a wise decision," Kris Peeters, deputy prime minister of Belgium, told China Daily in an interview on Tuesday in Ghent, Belgium.

"This is because free trade is not only important for the US, but it is also for Europe and China."