BRUSSELS/SHANGHAI/TOKYO (Reuters) - From Japan and South Korea to Australia and Europe, officials lined up on Friday to seek exemptions from President Donald Trump’s tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum imports, while Chinese producers called on Beijing to retaliate in kind. However, he said “real friends” of the United States could win waivers from the measures, which come into force after 15 days. Japan, the United States’ top economic and military ally in Asia, was next in line. Within minutes of Trump’s announcement, U.S. Republican Senator Jeff Flake, a critic of the president, said he would introduce a bill to nullify the tariffs. South Korea, the third largest steel exporter to the United States and a strategic ally on the Korean peninsula, called for calm.

Source: Huffington Post March 09, 2018 11:37 UTC