EU restricts steel imports

EU countries supported the introduction of measures to restrict steel imports, having voted on Thursday to introduce temporary measures to restrict steel imports proposed by the European Commission to the Community, EU spokesman Daniel Rosario said.

“Now the task of the Commission will be to complete the administrative procedure for the adoption and publication of the relevant executive act,” said Rosario, this should happen in mid-July.

At the end of June, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroy said that the EU could introduce measures in mid-July to restrict steel imports into the Community due to the introduction of additional obligations from the United States on its imports. This is done to protect the European steel industry.

In March, the EU launched an investigation into possible safeguards in the steel market after the administration of President Donald Trump announced that the US would impose additional duties on steel and aluminum on the EU. This investigation, the Commissioner said, is likely to continue until the end of the year. In connection with the introduction of additional obligations by the US administration on June 1, which also apply to countries outside the EU, Brussels and Washington have been engaged in a trade dispute for several weeks.

For years, the EU has struggled with an overproduction of steel in the world, especially in China - a cheap product from this country floods European markets. The EU fears that after the US decision, the situation will worsen.

US customs duties in the EU include goods worth € 2.8 billion. The EU emphasizes that the Union, by imposing responsive obligations, exercises its rights within the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The list of US products for which the EU imposes duty retaliation is several hundred items. It includes both food (including fruit juices and pork), steel products (chains, screws, cutlery), motor boats, yachts, motorcycles, bourbon (American whiskey) and playing cards. Ultimately, the duties imposed on the US, as reported by the EU, will relate to US exports to the EU, totaling € 6.4 billion.