The long series of tariff increases of trade taxes between the European Union and the United States is coming to an end. US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo explained on Saturday during a press conference at the G20 summit about advanced negotiations. The two trading partners agree that an agreement will enable them to better arm themselves against the oversupply of goods from China, instead of imposing import duties on, among other things, steel. The deal also provides an opportunity to improve the deeply disrupted trade relationship between the US and the EU.
If the countries succeed in signing the agreement before December 1, an increase in European taxes, planned for that date, will also be averted. From the EU, exports to the US will probably increase slightly.
Speaking to financial website Bloomberg, which previously reported that US and European diplomats were in talks about the tariffs, US security adviser Jake Sullivan said that is being considered to link import duties to quotas. Steel and aluminum can be imported at a favorable rate up to a maximum quantity, after which higher import costs apply.
The mutual problems started in 2018, when US President Donald Trump imposed import duties of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum from almost all countries in the world. Brussels responded, imposing tariffs on American goods, including motorcycles and jeans. Those targeted rates can be scrapped. The original rates will remain in effect, but the government of Joe Biden does not want to reverse them completely. His predecessor invoked “national security” when setting the tariffs. There are still fears that the US steel industry would collapse if imports were too cheap.
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source https://pledgetimes.com/us-and-eu-end-protracted-conflict-over-steel-tariffs/
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