The European
Commission on Monday again requested from Washington that the EU be exempted
from additional duties on aluminium and steel that President Donald J. Trump
signed into law last week.
The
Commission’s spokesperson for Trade Enrico Brivio told reporters that despite
ongoing talks with US officials, the EU’s status as to whether it will be
included on the list remains still remains unresolved.
Brivio
reiterated Brussels’ firm stance that the EU is the US’ closest ally and one of
its main strategic trading partners, and, therefore, not a national threat. The
bloc is hoping for an exemption from Trump’s crippling new 25% tariffs on
aluminium imports and 10% tax on steel.
The
European Union has demanded that the US Administration provides “more” clarity
over the next week.
“We are
close allies of the US and continue to insist that the EU should be excluded
(from the tariffs),” said Brivio, before adding, “the format for further
discussions is still pending,” but the European Union will request more
information as there will be contacts “at various levels during the week”.
“We hope
that the US will give us some clearer indications about the process of possible
exclusions…from there we will see,” Brivio told reporters.
On March
10, Europe’s Commissioner of Trade Cecilia Malmström and Japanese Economy and
Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko met US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer,
where the two outlined their arguments with Lighthizer, saying that both the EU
and Japan are strategic trade and security partners of the United States and
are therefore exempt from the new tariffs according to US law that grants
exceptions for allies and those that do not pose a national security threat.
Malmström
met bilaterally with Lighthizer where she outlined the EU’s planned
countermeasures if Trump refuses to grant an exception to the bloc. Brussels
has drawn up a provisional list of items that would be subject to stiff new
taxes in response to Trump including, steel products, jeans, bourbon, peanut
butter, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, orange juice and blueberries – to which an
equivalent tariff would apply – as well as several other items.
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/brussels-seeks-clarity-u-s-steel-tariffs-ahead-contacts-washington/