European Union officials believe the United States will soon ease its broad tariffs on products containing steel and aluminum — an issue that has been a source of irritation in transatlantic relations and a central point of friction in trade negotiations.
A move by President Donald Trump’s administration to reduce the number of goods subject to the 50% tariff on so-called derivative products containing these metals could be weeks away, according to people familiar with the bloc’s assessment.
The EU has long sought some relief from the broad tariff on metals, which, according to EU officials, violates the trade agreement signed last year, which established a 15% tariff ceiling for most European products. The US regularly reviews the list of derivative products, increasing the number of goods subject to the 50% tax rate — this list currently exceeds 400 items.
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“I have received assurances from our colleagues in the United States that they know this is a big problem for us and that they are looking into this issue,” EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic told lawmakers on Tuesday. “Hopefully we will have better news on this front soon.”
A request for comment sent to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office was not immediately returned.
The planned changes would not affect tariffs on commodity forms of metals (basic steel and aluminum).
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The ever-growing list of derivative products also creates an arduous task for companies, who need to identify the percentage of materials in the goods they export, reducing the benefits of the trade agreement reached last year.
The possible breakthrough comes at a difficult time for transatlantic relations. The ratification of the US-EU trade deal was thrown into doubt after the US Supreme Court struck down Trump’s use of an emergency powers law to impose his so-called reciprocal tariffs around the world.
In response to the court’s ruling, the US introduced a new 10% global tariff, added to existing most-favored-nation tariffs, which will raise taxes on some EU exports above the level allowed under the US–EU trade agreement.
The European Parliament on Monday suspended legislative work on approving the US–EU agreement, asking for clarification on Trump’s new trade policy.
Still, both sides have indicated they want to keep the agreement, even though the transition to a new trade policy could take months, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Sefcovic has been in touch with his US counterparts several times in recent days, the sources said, and briefed the bloc’s ambassadors on the latest developments on Monday.
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