Trade Cases
USTR Meets with EU Official on Steel, Aluminum Deal
July 21, 2023
US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai and a lead European Commission official met on Thursday in Brussels to discuss the Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminum, according to a press release from the USTR.
In her meeting with EC EVP Valdis Dombrovskis, “Ambassador Tai stressed the importance of both sides generating ambitious proposals in order to address shared concerns on carbon intensity and non-market excess capacity in the steel and aluminum industries,” the release said.
USTR said the US and EU “need to deliver a high-standard agreement worthy of the two years that both sides will have spent in negotiations.” The deadline for the agreement is October.
Ahead of the meeting, however, Dombrovskis said the US won’t be able to resolve its issues around steel with the EU with a deal that discriminates against other countries, according to an article in the Financial Times on Thursday.
Recall that EU and US are at odds over the EU’s proposed carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) that could see carbon tariffs placed on goods imported to the European Union. The US wants an exemption on CBAM.
If no deal is reached by October, it could mean the reinstatement of Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum products from the EU. This, in turn, could prompt retaliatory measures by the EU on US products
The meeting Thursday follows a previous meeting between the two officials on July 5 in Washington, D.C.
By Ethan Bernard, ethan@steelmarketupdate.com
Latest in Trade Cases
Mills allege ‘critical circumstances’ in CORE trade case vs. South Africa, UAE
"Recent activity in the marketplace strongly indicates that these imports are being rushed into the United States in an effort to avoid the imposition of antidumping duties," petitioners said.
European Commission eyes retaliation vs. Trump steel tariffs: Report
The European Commission is looking into making current quotas on steel imports stricter as a countermeasure to President Trump’s recently announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to the US, according to an article in Reuters.
Trump could levy tariffs on auto imports in April: Report
President Donald Trump said last week that he could place tariffs on auto imports, according to an article in Politico.
Section 232 tariffs are headed downstream
The Trump administration has revealed the list of derivative steel products being added to the Section 232 tariff list.
Leibowitz: In Trump’s brave new world of tariffs, what will stick and what will courts challenge?
With a chronic trade deficit, the administration will continue to cite more tariffs as necessary. This is in error, as noted above. Yet the base of President Trump’s support does not see it that way. More tariffs are possible. But the only way to reduce the US trade deficit substantially is to close the gap between savings and investment in the United States.