Wilbur Ross `Positive' on Efforts to Save Vestas From Tariffs

(Bloomberg) -- Denmark is hoping planned U.S. tariffs won't hit Vestas Wind Systems A/S, whose American operations rely on steel imports to build turbines.

Danish Business Minister Brian Mikkelsen met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in Washington on Monday, with discussions focusing on the fallout of President Donald Trump's plan to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Mikkelsen said his efforts to explain how much damage the proposal would do to the world's biggest wind-turbine maker were met with understanding.

The reaction from Ross was “positive,” Mikkelsen told Bloomberg on Tuesday. “He sees Denmark as an important trade partner.” The Danish minister said he left the meeting with “a good impression of” Ross.

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“There are reasonable people in the U.S. administration who will work toward us not ending up there,” Mikkelsen said.

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Trump stunned governments, businesses and markets last week by announcing the plan to impose tariffs in a move he said would protect American jobs. He later doubled down by saying he even thinks trade wars are a good thing. The European Union has since retaliated and is preparing punitive measures to target iconic U.S. brands produced in key Republican constituencies.

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“I think the EU had to react,” the Danish minister said. “The EU needs to show that tariffs aren't acceptable.”

Mikkelsen said that the tariffs envisioned by Trump would make turbine construction considerably more costly for Vestas, which is based in western Denmark. “A very big part of a wind turbine is the steel construction and they can now become 5 to 10 percent more expensive,” he said.

“I'm worried about the slippery slope that we may be heading for,” the Danish minister said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christian Wienberg in Copenhagen at cwienberg@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tasneem Hanfi Brögger at tbrogger@bloomberg.net, Jonas Bergman

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