The United States and the European Union reached an agreement on Saturday to lift additional tariffs on European imports of steel and aluminum, a dispute that has plagued trade relations between Washington and Brussels since the imposition of such tariffs. taxes by the Trump administration.
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US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced this “
historic
”
agreement
which will “
maintain certain tariffs but allow limited quantities of European imports of steel and aluminum to enter the United States duty-free. of rights
”.
The retaliatory measures announced by the EU, scheduled to take effect on December 1 on products like Harley-Davidson motorcycles or Kentucky bourbon, will not be implemented, said Administration Minister Biden in a conference call from Rome, where a G20 meeting is being held.
European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis announced in a tweet: “
We have agreed with the United States to suspend our trade dispute over steel and aluminum and to launch cooperation for a global agreement on the 'durable steel and aluminum
'.
Protectionist measures decided by Trump
The Trump administration imposed in June 2018 additional tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum from several regions of the world, including the European Union, arguing the need to protect national security .
The Europeans quickly responded by planning to tax motorcycles, jeans (including Levi's), or tobacco, corn, rice or orange juice from the United States.
Last June, when the settlement of the dispute over subsidies to Airbus and Boeing was announced, Washington and Brussels gave themselves until December 1 to find an agreement on steel otherwise the EU would impose an increase. of its customs tariffs.
“
These industries were faced with retaliatory tariffs of 50%,
” Ms. Raimondo recalled, referring to products made in the USA.
“
No business can survive this.
There are 1.7 million Americans who make a living from the spirits industry and 5,600 workers at Harley-Davidson.
All these jobs are guaranteed with this agreement
”.
The announcement, made on the first day of the G20 leaders' summit in Rome, does not specify the volume of steel and aluminum imports that will be duty free.
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"
We expect this agreement to ease the supply chain and reduce cost increases
," said the US Secretary of Commerce, as economies struggle with bottlenecks in product manufacturing and distribution. key industrialists.
The agreement specifies that all steel imported from Europe to the United States will be "
made entirely in Europe
", insisted the American administration.
It is also intended to be the framework for future negotiations for an agreement between the European Union and the United States on how to better take into account the carbon intensity of the manufacture of these products.
"
This means that the United States and the EU both produce steel and aluminum which are cleaner than steel produced in China
."