Steel dispute: EU seeks solution with US ahead of summit

In the run-up to the Economic Summit with the United States, the European Union expects a resolution to the dispute over US special tariffs on European steel and aluminum imports. The EU could position itself on the North American metal deal between the United States and Canada and Mexico, the commission’s vice-chairman Valdis Dombrovsky said on Tuesday.

In May 2019, the US government repealed special tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and Mexico after reaching an agreement. The trade summit is scheduled for Wednesday. The United States and the European Union are once again seeking to improve their Atlantic relationship. Time is running out as the deadline expires in late November, warns Domprovsky, the EU trade commissioner. So an agreement should be reached by the beginning of November.

In June, the United States and the European Union agreed to settle US tariffs on steel and aluminum from Europe by the end of this year. In March 2018 the United States imposed special tariffs. Former President Donald Trump then argued that the increase in imports threatened US national security. The EU has imposed retaliatory taxes on American products such as jeans, whiskey, motorcycles and peanut butter.