A lingering disagreement over US President Donald Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs has now been ended by the United States and the European Union. This has eliminated an irritant in the transatlantic relations and prevented a surge in EU retaliatory tariffs, according to US officials.
According to the agreement between the two parties, the deal will keep US "Section 232" tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminum in place, while allowing "limited volumes" of EU-produced metals into the United States duty-free, according to Commerce US Secretary Gina Raimondo.
It removes a source of contention between the traditional allies and allows them to concentrate on drafting a new global trade deal to handle global excess steel and aluminum capacity, which is mostly concentrated in China, as well as cut carbon emissions from the industries.
The pact was verified by EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, who said on Twitter that "we have agreed with the US to pause" the trade dispute and begin collaboration on a future global deal on sustainable steel and aluminum.
Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will formally announce the arrangement on Sunday, according to Dombrovskis.
Under a tariff-rate quota system agreed upon with the EU, US authorities did not define the volume of duty-free steel to be permitted into the US.
Annual amounts above 3.3 million tonnes would be subject to levies, according to sources familiar with the arrangement.
According to reports quoting information from US sources, the deal provides an additional two years of duty-free access over the limit for EU steel goods that had received exclusion from the Commerce Department in the previous year.
To qualify for duty-free status, EU steel and aluminum must be wholly manufactured in the union under a criterion known as "melted and poured".
The clause is designed to restrict metals from China and other non-EU nations from being exported to the US after a minimal treatment in the EU.
Prior to Trump's imposition of tariffs on national security grounds, Europe exported roughly 5 million tonnes of steel to the United States each year.
"The agreement ultimately to negotiate a carbon-based arrangement on steel and aluminum trade addresses both Chinese overproduction and carbon intensity in the steel and aluminum sector," White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters, adding that the climate and workers can be protected at the same time.
Steel manufacturing in the United States, which is mainly reliant on electric-arc furnaces, is believed to emit significantly fewer carbon emissions than China's coal-fueled blast furnaces.
An attempt has been made by the Biden administration to repair relations with the EU in order to fight China's state-driven economic practices, following Trump's policy. The approach of China has resulted in Beijing creating vast surplus steelmaking capacity that has flooded global markets.
The agreement will also end Europe's retaliatory duties on American exports such as bourbon whiskey, Harley-Davidson motorbikes, and motorboats, which were slated to treble on December 1, according to US officials.
"The end of this long tariff nightmare is in sight for U.S. distillers, who have struggled with the weight of the tariffs and the pandemic," Distilled Spirits Council President Chris Swonger said, also urging Britain to lift its tariff on American whiskeys.
(Source:www.wionnews.com)
According to the agreement between the two parties, the deal will keep US "Section 232" tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminum in place, while allowing "limited volumes" of EU-produced metals into the United States duty-free, according to Commerce US Secretary Gina Raimondo.
It removes a source of contention between the traditional allies and allows them to concentrate on drafting a new global trade deal to handle global excess steel and aluminum capacity, which is mostly concentrated in China, as well as cut carbon emissions from the industries.
The pact was verified by EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, who said on Twitter that "we have agreed with the US to pause" the trade dispute and begin collaboration on a future global deal on sustainable steel and aluminum.
Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will formally announce the arrangement on Sunday, according to Dombrovskis.
Under a tariff-rate quota system agreed upon with the EU, US authorities did not define the volume of duty-free steel to be permitted into the US.
Annual amounts above 3.3 million tonnes would be subject to levies, according to sources familiar with the arrangement.
According to reports quoting information from US sources, the deal provides an additional two years of duty-free access over the limit for EU steel goods that had received exclusion from the Commerce Department in the previous year.
To qualify for duty-free status, EU steel and aluminum must be wholly manufactured in the union under a criterion known as "melted and poured".
The clause is designed to restrict metals from China and other non-EU nations from being exported to the US after a minimal treatment in the EU.
Prior to Trump's imposition of tariffs on national security grounds, Europe exported roughly 5 million tonnes of steel to the United States each year.
"The agreement ultimately to negotiate a carbon-based arrangement on steel and aluminum trade addresses both Chinese overproduction and carbon intensity in the steel and aluminum sector," White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters, adding that the climate and workers can be protected at the same time.
Steel manufacturing in the United States, which is mainly reliant on electric-arc furnaces, is believed to emit significantly fewer carbon emissions than China's coal-fueled blast furnaces.
An attempt has been made by the Biden administration to repair relations with the EU in order to fight China's state-driven economic practices, following Trump's policy. The approach of China has resulted in Beijing creating vast surplus steelmaking capacity that has flooded global markets.
The agreement will also end Europe's retaliatory duties on American exports such as bourbon whiskey, Harley-Davidson motorbikes, and motorboats, which were slated to treble on December 1, according to US officials.
"The end of this long tariff nightmare is in sight for U.S. distillers, who have struggled with the weight of the tariffs and the pandemic," Distilled Spirits Council President Chris Swonger said, also urging Britain to lift its tariff on American whiskeys.
(Source:www.wionnews.com)
Homepage
Send to a friend
Printable version
Share
