The United States and the European Union reached an agreement on steel and aluminum tariffs, and some European steel and aluminum products will be duty-free

According to the Washington Post on October 31, the Biden administration reached an agreement with EU officials at the G20 summit to cancel some of the tariffs imposed by trump on steel and aluminum three years ago.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced the agreement on the 30th that "a limited number" of steel and aluminum products imported from the EU will enjoy zero tariff. In return, the EU will also cut retaliatory tariffs against the United States - the EU will cut tariffs on a variety of American goods by 50% on December 1, including Harley motorcycles and Bourbon Whisky produced in Kentucky.

Raymond said the agreement is crucial because it can reduce costs for U.S. manufacturers and consumer spending. White House national security adviser Sullivan claimed that the tariff agreement "removed one of the biggest 'disagreements' in US European bilateral relations." US trade representative Dai Qi told reporters that the agreement "strengthened the regulatory system to prevent steel and aluminum from China and other' unfair competition 'from entering the US market." however, some experts said that the measure came too late and many commodity prices have been high, Disrupting the U.S. economy is frustrating.

Specifically, according to the financial times (FT) on the 31st, the United States abolished Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum products in 2018, and reached a global arrangement on Sustainable steel and aluminum, which introduced a quota system of tariff rate, which will allow a specific amount of steel and aluminum trade between the United States and Europe to maintain a low tax rate.

In 2018, then US President trump imposed a 25% tariff on imported steel from the EU and China and a 10% tariff on imported aluminum on the grounds of national security.

Before trump set tariffs on steel and aluminum, the United States purchased about 3.2 million tons from Europe every year. After the introduction of tariffs, this figure decreased by one third.

According to three sources familiar with the negotiations, Biden's agreement will allow the EU to export 3.3 million tons of steel to the United States duty-free every year. With the consent of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Europe will be able to increase its duty-free quota of 1 million tons a year.

However, it must be pointed out that Trump's tariff hike is not without supporters in the United States. Although his trade barriers have been criticized by economists for increasing the burden on consumers, they are even welcomed by labor groups with great influence on the Democratic Party because they protect industrial groups and overseas competition. Therefore, the Biden administration has been very tangled about whether to cancel it.

US trade representative Dai Qi said on the 30th that in the future, the United States and the European Union will evaluate the amount of steel and aluminum imported from the European Union every year. She told reporters that the agreement also "strengthened the regulatory system to prevent steel and aluminum from China and other 'unfair competition' from entering the US market."

The Biden administration said they expected the tariff agreement to help alleviate the supply chain problems encountered by the United States in key commodities and ensure that all steel imported from Europe is produced on the European continent.

The US government also called for the inclusion of the topic of "carbon intensity" in future free trade negotiations. Raymond claimed that this would allow the United States to produce "significantly cleaner" products than Chinese steel and aluminum.