United States, EU Move Forward On Metals Pact
Several news reports from last week suggested U.S. and European Union (EU) officials may be ready to announce an interim deal on steel and aluminum trade at a summit set for October 20. The deal, which is not yet finalized, could avert the re-imposition of the U.S. Section 232 tariffs on metals imports from Europe and pave a path for improving the sustainability of metals production.
According to The American Journal of Transportation, as part of a possible agreement, the EU and U.S. government “would aim to coordinate how they measure and tackle excess capacity.”
That’s not all the agreement aims to do.
The broad goal of the Global Steel and Aluminum Arrangement, which the EU and United States have been negotiating since 2021, is to encourage investment in green metals production. In a visit to the United States earlier this year, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reaffirmed the joint commitment, which she envisions will bring together a group of like-minded states that will agree on a set of measures to curtail market access for carbon-intensive steel and aluminum and fight market-distorting practices in the metals sector.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo has argued the deal would not only help the United States address climate change, but also would aid policymakers in dealing with metals dumping from China and other non-market economies.