Why is the US-EU trade war flaring up again?

Amid the economic mayhem of the coronavirus pandemic, why would the US government even be considering reigniting the transatlantic trade war? Ben Chu explains

The WTO ruled the EU has failed to withdraw billions of dollars in illegal subsidies to Airbus (Reuters)

The Office of the United States Trade Representative has this week released a list of goods produced in the European Union upon which it says the US is considering imposing tariffs.

They range from pullovers, to machine tools, to food exports such as beer and olives.

But why, amid the economic mayhem of the coronavirus pandemic, would the US government even be considering reigniting the transatlantic trade war?