One more month for the EU exemption on US tariffs

On April 30 the White House issued a proclamation extending the temporary exemption of Canada, Mexico and the EU from the tariffs on steel and aluminum (25% on steel imports to the US and 10% on aluminum).

The tariffs went into effect March 23 as a result of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Section 232 investigations into the effect of these imports on US national security. Some countries – including EU – were granted an initial pass on the tariffs until May 1, 2018, now prolonged until June 1, to find a longer-term agreement.
According to the proclamation, the best way to face the matter is to continue the discussions, to find “satisfactory alternative means to address the threatened impairment to the national security by imports of steel articles.”
“The US Administration has opted to continue a policy of uncertainty in its international trade practice”, commented Axel Eggert, Director General of the European Steel Association (EUROFER). “We support the Commission’s work in making sure that the US is aware it cannot take unilateral measures without trade consequences”.
EUROFER is concerned about a surge in imports, as already seen in the first few months of this year, as countries also previously excluded from the measures direct their deflected products to the open EU market.
“The EU’s possible safeguard measure should be broad and cover a wide scope of products. Any safeguard – which remedies import surges – should be independent of whether the US gives the EU an exemption”, concluded Mr Eggert.

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