Terms of Trade: A Dogfight Trump Can Say He Won Fair and Square

If President Donald Trump imposes new tariffs on European goods next month, America’s transatlantic allies can’t say they they’ve been blindsided like they have with other trade policies launched from his White House.

While some may bristle that the self-proclaimed “Tariff Man” is expanding his trade fight with the European Union, Trump would be acting on the right side of international law in a long-running case pitting Toulouse, France-based Airbus and Chicago-based Boeing. This time he’ll have the explicit authorization of the World Trade Organization, the referee of global commerce.

That’s a key distinction from Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods, or steel ...