“Europe First.” That’s the new cry from the continent’s captains of commerce, the Times reports. It’s an echo of President Trump’s “America First” agenda, as he pursued a platform of “protectionism and business-friendly tax and regulatory pledges” back to the White House, the Times says. Now Europe’s business leaders are concerned and “furiously lobbying policymakers in Brussels,” as the Times puts it, to pay more heed to the continent’s interests.

Europe’s parochial push is a reminder that mercantilism is a game that two can play. Trump’s plans to revive America’s industrial prowess by way of a “pro-America trade policy” — in other words, protectionism — might have made for good campaign trail fodder. History, though, shows that tariffs can be a double-edged sword. Feature the Smoot-Hawley tariff of 1930, which ignited a trade war and worsened the Depression.