In extremis, the EU and the US agreed on Sunday 31 October to prevent escalation of the Section 232 tariff dispute on steel and aluminium. They hadgiven themselves until the end of October to find a solution. After that, the EU was expected to impose the top tier of its tariffs on certain USimports on 1 December.
Ultimately, Washington agreed to lift part of the tariffs imposed byDonald Trump in 2018 (25% on steel and 10% on aluminium). European exports will be exempt from Section 232 tariffs to the tune of US$6.7 billion (US$5.5 billion for steel and US$1.2 billion for aluminium). This suspension will be implemented on 1 January 2022.
According to the Commission, this tariff quota corresponds to the historical trade volume between the EU and the US and will avoid up to €1.5 billion in tariffs. [...]
In the European Parliament, the chairman of the Committee on International Trade, Bernd Lange (S&D, Germany), also welcomed the arrangement. “While the Section 232 tariffs will not be fully eliminated, the partial removal of the tariffs is an important step in de-escalation and shows that this administration is committed to work ing with us”, he said.