US to extend suspension of EU steel tariffs

WASHINGTON

U.S. President Joe Biden has announced that he is extending a suspension of Trump-era steel and aluminum tariffs against the European Union (EU) for two years as negotiations continue.

With the United States and the EU still far from resolving a years-long dispute over their trade in metals, Biden said he was extending a pause he put in place two years ago until Dec. 31, 2025.

"I have determined that specified volumes of eligible steel articles imports from the EU will no longer threaten to impair the national security," Biden said in a statement explaining his decision.

In 2018, then-president Donald Trump slapped high tariffs on steel and aluminum coming from many countries, in a move aimed largely at protecting U.S. producers from cheaper Chinese imports.

But the wide-ranging rules also swept up EU exports in the process, triggering retaliatory sanctions from the European trading bloc and close U.S. ally.

After taking office in 2021, Biden kept the tariffs in place but granted a suspension for EU exporters, which had been due to expire at the end of 2023.

The widely expected extension comes just over two weeks after the EU confirmed it was suspending its own retaliatory tariffs citing "intensive engagement" with the United States.

The pause gives the two sides space to "continue negotiations on a forward-looking, high-standard arrangement," U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement.