Steel Trade Group Hinted at Earliest Settlement of Tariff Trade Dispute

It must be noted that the U.S. administration had slapped duties of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The dispute between the EU and the U.S. over the tariffs imposed by the U.S. on European steel products in 2018 by the Trump administration is likely to end soon, said Europe’s steel lobby. It must be noted that the U.S. administration had slapped duties of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum.

EC Calls for Immediate Settlement of U.S. Tariff Trade Dispute

Speaking at a webinar, Karl Tachelet, European Steel Association (EUROFER) said that a deal is quite likely. The two sides are exploring options to replace tariff system with a new arrangement that would allow duty-free entry of a specified quota of steel products from the EU region, while applying tariffs to volumes that exceed the specified limit. Since the imposition of tariffs, the EU steel exports to the U.S. has witnessed sharp decline by almost 1 million tonnes, Tachelet added.

The deal is expected to be announced during the first week of November, despite the U.S. is said to be under pressure from its steel sector not to make any changes to the existing tariffs system. On the other hand, the EU member countries have called for an earliest settlement of the dispute ahead of the Dec 1 deadline, as the retaliatory measures imposed by the EU are set to double on that date, which may make the issue more complicated.