Von Der Leyen: US, EU Agree to Suspend Tariffs on Steel, Aluminium
12:28 GMT 31.10.2021 (Updated: 17:14 GMT 12.04.2023)
© REUTERS / KEVIN LAMARQUE
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On Saturday, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced that Washington and Brussels had agreed to settle a row over steel and aluminium tariffs.
The US and the EU have agreed to suspend tariffs on steel and aluminium, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday.
"We agreed to suspend the tariffs on steel and aluminum and to start ... a new global sustainable steel arrangement. And this marks a milestone in the renew EU-US partnership," von der Leyen said at the G20 meeting in Rome.
She added that the EU will pause a dispute on steel in the World Trade Organisation.
Pleased to announce that @POTUS Biden and I reached an agreement to suspend the tariffs on steel & aluminium, and to work together on a new Global Sustainable Steel Arrangement.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) October 31, 2021
Together, we deliver for our citizens and for the climate. https://t.co/MnsYzITEoA
US President Joe Biden said that his country and the EU are committed to negotiating a carbon-based arrangement on the steel and aluminium trade.
"The European Union and the United States have a shared commitment to joint action and deepened cooperation in these sectors and are taking joint steps to defend workers, industries and communities from global overcapacity and climate change, including through a new arrangement to discourage trade in high-carbon steel and aluminium that contributes to global excess capacity from other countries and ensure that domestic policies support lowering the carbon intensity of these industries," the statement read, as quoted by the White House.
Von der Leyen and Biden also said in a joint statement that they have taken steps to re-establish transatlantic trade flows in steel and aluminium.
"The United States will not apply section 232 duties and will allow duty-free importation steel and aluminium from the EU at a historical-based volume and the EU will suspend related tariffs on U.S. products", the statement reads.
Earlier this week, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced that the US and EU had agreed to settle a row over steel and aluminium tariffs which were imposed by former US President Donald Trump in 2018. By announcing tariffs on steel and aluminium from Europe and Asia, Trump cited "risks to national security" and said that his goal was to protect US industries from "unfair" foreign competition. In retaliation, the EU targeted US products including Harley-Davidson motorcycles, Levi Strauss jeans, and bourbon whiskey.
