The European Commission wants the US to change the tariff-quota system regulating imports of steel products from EU countries. This statement was made by European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis.
The US and the EU discussed a steel trade agreement in October 2023, but failed to reach an agreement, agreeing only to extend the negotiations. At the same time, the exemption of European steel companies from the American 25% steel tariffs, valid until January 1, 2024, will be extended indefinitely.
As Dombrovskis noted, while the European Union has lifted tariffs on a range of American products, the United States continues to limit steel imports from Europe with quotas. Companies from the EU can supply a maximum of 3.3 million tons of steel and 384,000 tons of aluminum duty-free to the American market throughout the year.
However, the American system stipulates quarterly quotas for 54 types of steel products, one for each of the 27 EU countries, which greatly complicates supplies. The European Commission supports semi-annual or annual quotas for all EU countries as a whole and based on larger categories.
At the same time, the US and the EU have reached full agreement on the joint fight against overcapacity and carbon dioxide emissions in the global metallurgical industry. But they have yet to reach an agreement on the specific regulation of mutual trade.
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