US duties: temporary exemption of the EU is a step forward

The U.S. Administration announced that the European Union would be temporarily exempted of the decision to impose 25% additional duties on steel and 10% on aluminium until 1 May.

Markus J. Beyrer, Director General of BusinessEurope, said: "This is good news for EU companies and it opens the door for further discussions with the USA. The EU fulfils all the relevant criteria that justify exemption, inter alia fighting overcapacity and cooperating in the global forum on steel, working on relevant WTO cases, using anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures and cooperating in the field of security. There is no objective reason why the EU should not be granted a permanent exemption from these measures. We appreciate the efforts of the Commission and the Member States in passing this message."

While establishing a dialogue with the USA, the EU must remain vigilant and safeguard its interests and the interests of its companies. “For the moment there is no guarantee the EU will obtain a permanent exemption and what the related conditions will be. Therefore, the EU must preserve its interests and the interests of its industry in line with WTO rules. The legitimacy of the WTO needs to be fully maintained as guardian of the world trading system. We trust that the EU and the USA will continue to work as partners to promote free and fair trade,” he concluded.