The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and the European Commission announced an agreement that extends the suspension of the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the EU into the U.S. market for 15 months. The EU will also continue to suspend its retaliatory measures on select U.S. exports to the EU and it is not expected to restart its World Trade Organization (WTO) challenge to the measures.
By extending the suspension to March 31, 2025, negotiators will have additional time to work out an agreement on the Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminum. However, this deadline also pushes the tariff suspension past the U.S. presidential and congressional elections in November 2024, as well as the EU Parliamentary elections in June 2024.
The initial agreement reached in October 2021 by the U.S. and EU resulted in the suspension of the steel and aluminum tariffs, along with the retaliatory tariffs, and a deal to negotiate the Global Arrangement on trade in green steel and aluminum products. Negotiators have worked for more than two years on a framework for trade in low-carbon steel and aluminum, but a deal does not appear imminent.
The U.S. government will continue to administer the tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) on EU steel and aluminum imports based on historical trade volumes, but it will also provide additional exclusions moving forward. Since the Section 232 measures are set to snap-back into place beginning Jan. 1, 2024, the president must issue a new proclamation prior to the end of 2023 in order to implement this extension.
If you have any questions, please contact ISRI AVP of International Trade and Global Affairs, Adam Shaffer, at 202-662-8532 or ashaffer@isri.org.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and the European Commission announced an agreement...