US President Donald Trump’s controversial import tariffs on steel and aluminium came into force last week. And even though the European Union is exempt, Brussels is still studying the impact of the tariffs.
Specifically, the EU wants to know whether the import tariffs warrant action to prevent predominantly Asian producers flooding Europe with steel.
As reported by the Reuters news agency, Trump’s tariffs (25% on steel and 10% on aluminium) will be studied by the EU for up to nine months. This research could lead the EU to impose its own quotas or tariffs on steel, including stainless steel and pipes, to prevent harm to its own industry.
“The information currently available to the European Commission… has revealed that imports of certain steel products have recently increased sharply showing that there is sufficient evidence that these trends in imports appear to call for safeguards measures,” the European Commission said in a document published in the EU official journal on March 26.
“The investigation will examine the situation of the products concerned, including the situation of each of the product categories individually, also based on the most recent developments, such as any trade diversion resulting from the US measures,” the Commission said.
Meanwhile, the EU has until May 1 to secure a permanent exemption from US metals tariffs.
