EU and US still disagree on steel tariffs

The European Commission wants a steel trade deal with the US to avoid a return of Article 232 and retaliatory EU tariffs, but will not sign an agreement that violates global trade standards, said EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.

Experts argue that elements of Washington's proposed solution could unfairly discriminate against imports from certain countries and violate WTO rules.

In a working paper published earlier this month, David Kleimann, who visited a Bruegel researcher, said the US proposals are "an exclusive and coercive club devoid of certain domestic cap commitments" and mean the EU will have to delay its carbon cap adjustment. (CBAM) regulation and make policy decisions inconsistent with the WTO.

US proposals for built-in emission targets that restrict market access to imports are expected to meet EAF performance standards and the transition to blast furnaces from the outset. Kleimann noted that this would result in de facto discrimination against imports from non-international trade countries for the legal purposes of international trade.

“As an EU, we are committed to multilateralism, a rules-based global order,” Dombrovskis told The Financial Times. "We would like to avoid entering into agreements that clearly violate the rules of the World Trade Organization."

The parties struggled to find an agreement on the Global Sustainable Steel and Aluminum Compact (GSA) ahead of the October deadline. Without a deal, US tariffs, and therefore the EU, will return in December.

“We respect the concerns of the EU, but we continue to wait for a proposal from them that is in line with our high ambitions and addresses our common concerns about climate change and overcapacity,” Sam Michel, a spokesman for the office of the US Trade Representative, was quoted as saying. as the saying goes.

Dombrovskis declined to speculate whether he and US Trade Representative Catherine Tai could extend the truce unless an agreement was reached by October. "We intend to close a deal this fall," he tweeted after meeting Ty last week.