Released March 14, 2018 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The European Union (EU) has threatened trade sanctions against the United States in response to last week's confirmation by President Donald Trump of additional import duties on EU exports of steel and aluminium to the U.S.
The proposed import duties on EU exports would be set at 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium. The controversial move was justified by claims that there is a need to revitalise U.S. steel production, protect the struggling sector from cheaper imports and alleged national security concerns. For additional information, see March 8, 2018, article - Trump Signs Steel, Aluminum Import Tariffs, Excludes Canada, Mexico. Canada and Mexico have been excluded from the tariffs, and there remains some optimism that Europe will be excluded from the tariff also.
"I'll have a right to go up or down depending on the country, and I'll have a right to drop out countries or add countries," Trump told media last week. "We're going to be very fair, we're going to be very flexible, but we're going to protect the American worker-- as I said I would do in my campaign." The tariffs were roundly condemned by the European Commission (EC) and industry groups.
"We strongly regret this step, which appears to represent a blatant intervention to protect U.S. domestic industry and not to be based on any national security justification," said European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. "Protectionism cannot be the answer to our common problem in the steel sector. Instead of providing a solution, this move can only aggravate matters. The EU has been a close security ally of the U.S. for decades. We will not sit idly while our industry is hit with unfair measures that put thousands of European jobs at risk. I had the occasion to say that the EU would react adequately, and that's what we will do. The EU will react firmly and commensurately to defend our interests. The Commission will bring forward in the next few days a proposal for WTO-compatible countermeasures against the U.S. to rebalance the situation."
Juncker identified potential U.S. trade targets with both economic and political impact for leading Republicans, including bourbon from Kentucky, home state of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Harley-Davidson motorcycles from Wisconsin, home state of House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström added: "These U.S. measures will have a negative impact on transatlantic relations and on global markets. In addition, they will raise costs and reduce choice for U.S. consumers of steel and aluminium, including industries that import these commodities. The root cause of problems in these two sectors is global overcapacity caused by non-market-based production. This can only be addressed at the source and by working with the key countries involved. This go-it-alone action by the U.S. will not help."
The European Steel Association (EUROFER) condemned the decision as "counterproductive for both the U.S. and EU economies".
Axel Eggert, director general of EUROFER, said: "The U.S. measure baselessly includes EU producers, who will suffer significantly from the loss of one of its major export markets. The national security justification the president has used--and the linking of these tariffs to NATO funding--is an absurdity."
European Aluminium, the voice of the aluminium industry, echoed EU concerns.
"We are deeply concerned about the U.S. decision to impose a 10% tariff on all aluminium products from Europe (EU+EFTA)," said Gerd Götz, director general of European Aluminium. "As a long-standing political ally with strongly interlinked aluminium value chains and numerous multinationals operating on both territories, Europe should have been exempted from the tariff. If the tariff comes into force, it will greatly damage our trading relationship with the U.S. The EU currently exports 1.2 billion euro of direct aluminium products to the U.S., shares many industrial clusters, innovation hubs and transatlantic synergies. As Commissioner Malmström said, it is time to act and stand up for the thousands of jobs, investments and innovation opportunities at immediate risk."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
The proposed import duties on EU exports would be set at 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium. The controversial move was justified by claims that there is a need to revitalise U.S. steel production, protect the struggling sector from cheaper imports and alleged national security concerns. For additional information, see March 8, 2018, article - Trump Signs Steel, Aluminum Import Tariffs, Excludes Canada, Mexico. Canada and Mexico have been excluded from the tariffs, and there remains some optimism that Europe will be excluded from the tariff also.
"I'll have a right to go up or down depending on the country, and I'll have a right to drop out countries or add countries," Trump told media last week. "We're going to be very fair, we're going to be very flexible, but we're going to protect the American worker-- as I said I would do in my campaign." The tariffs were roundly condemned by the European Commission (EC) and industry groups.
"We strongly regret this step, which appears to represent a blatant intervention to protect U.S. domestic industry and not to be based on any national security justification," said European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. "Protectionism cannot be the answer to our common problem in the steel sector. Instead of providing a solution, this move can only aggravate matters. The EU has been a close security ally of the U.S. for decades. We will not sit idly while our industry is hit with unfair measures that put thousands of European jobs at risk. I had the occasion to say that the EU would react adequately, and that's what we will do. The EU will react firmly and commensurately to defend our interests. The Commission will bring forward in the next few days a proposal for WTO-compatible countermeasures against the U.S. to rebalance the situation."
Juncker identified potential U.S. trade targets with both economic and political impact for leading Republicans, including bourbon from Kentucky, home state of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Harley-Davidson motorcycles from Wisconsin, home state of House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström added: "These U.S. measures will have a negative impact on transatlantic relations and on global markets. In addition, they will raise costs and reduce choice for U.S. consumers of steel and aluminium, including industries that import these commodities. The root cause of problems in these two sectors is global overcapacity caused by non-market-based production. This can only be addressed at the source and by working with the key countries involved. This go-it-alone action by the U.S. will not help."
The European Steel Association (EUROFER) condemned the decision as "counterproductive for both the U.S. and EU economies".
Axel Eggert, director general of EUROFER, said: "The U.S. measure baselessly includes EU producers, who will suffer significantly from the loss of one of its major export markets. The national security justification the president has used--and the linking of these tariffs to NATO funding--is an absurdity."
European Aluminium, the voice of the aluminium industry, echoed EU concerns.
"We are deeply concerned about the U.S. decision to impose a 10% tariff on all aluminium products from Europe (EU+EFTA)," said Gerd Götz, director general of European Aluminium. "As a long-standing political ally with strongly interlinked aluminium value chains and numerous multinationals operating on both territories, Europe should have been exempted from the tariff. If the tariff comes into force, it will greatly damage our trading relationship with the U.S. The EU currently exports 1.2 billion euro of direct aluminium products to the U.S., shares many industrial clusters, innovation hubs and transatlantic synergies. As Commissioner Malmström said, it is time to act and stand up for the thousands of jobs, investments and innovation opportunities at immediate risk."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
