It may not be a trade war, but it could still be costly and dangerous

THERE is nothing new about US administrations being drawn into trade disputes with America's economic partners or, for that matter, about them pushing for protectionist measures against allies such as Germany or Japan.

For much of the 1980s, the United States and Japan were engaged in numerous trade quarrels, with Japan - like China today - accused of "stealing" American jobs and pursuing unfair trade practices. In response, US presidents - committed as they were to free trade principles - ended up imposing major tariffs on Japanese imports, creating a sense of crisis between the two allies. At the same time, US officials threatened to impose stiff tariffs on European products as part of a strategy to press its transatlantic allies to make concessions during trade negotiations.

In the case of Japan, trade squabbles with the Europeans ignited fears of global trade wars and collapse of the post-World War II Western alliances. Recalling these episodes is not an attempt to play down the current trade tensions between the US and China, as well as with staunch allies such as Canada, Germany and Japan, or to suggest that the US decisions to enact aluminium and steel tariffs against its partners in Europe and North America, and to threaten to impose tariffs on US$50 billion in Chinese imports, could not evolve into explosive trade wars.