EU-US negotiations on trade in steel and aluminum

The European Union and the United States announced that they have reached an agreement to ease tariffs on steel and aluminium and to address carbon intensity and overcapacity at a global scale. The interim arrangement will eliminate US punitive duties imposed on EU-origin steel and aluminum under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and instead, implement a tariff rate quota (TRQ), set to be effective on 1 January 2022. The formal announcement and agreement reached comes as part of a carbon-based sectoral arrangement with goals of limiting carbon overproduction and fostering US production. The agreement was extended through 2025 on January 1, 2024.

 

As a first step, the US and EU announced the following:

 

• The US will no longer apply the Section 232 tariffs on a certain amount of EU exports of steel and aluminium from 1st January 2022.

• In response, the EU will suspend its rebalancing measures  against the US that were introduced in June 2018 in response to the US Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum and derivative products. Previously, there was a 25% tariff levied on certain US products imported into the EU, such as bourbon and motorcycles. As a result of the agreement, the anticipated doubling of these punitive rates will no longer go into effect on 1 December 2021. 

• In addition, they should consult on government investment in decarbonisation, and prohibit non-market practices with high carbon intensity steel and aluminium production.

Want to know more about this policy ? Learn more