EU and US agree to suspend steel and aluminium tariffs

The European Union and the US have come to an agreement to suspend Trump-era tariffs over aluminium and steel as the two powers continue to ease tensions between them over long-running disputes.

The measures, which were first introduced in 2018, were one of a number of trade disputes between the two allies, although warnings from ministers in July hinted that easing the tariffs may not remove all barriers on the sector.

Read more: US-EU steel deal may not remove all barriers, says Dombrovskis

The announcement was made at the G20 summit in Rome ahead of the COP26 summit in Glasgow, which began on Sunday.

EU Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis revealed the EU and US would "work together on a global steel and aluminium arrangement" to address overcapacity - primarily from China - and reduce both sectors' emissions.

He tweeted that this was "not the end destination" for resolving the issue and that further discussions would take place.

Further details were divulged in the hours following Dombrovskis announcement on Saturday.

President Biden and EU President Ursula von der Leyen entered discussions on suspending the tariffs on October 30 as part of an easing of relations and in a bid to "achieve the decarbonisation of the global steel and aluminium industries in the fight against climate change" as well as pausing their respective World Trade Organisation investigations, they revealed.

The two have been attempting to hash out a deal for the dispute for a number of months.

This marks the latest agreement between the EU and US, following the suspension of the tariffs associated with the Boeing-Airbus dispute, which lasted for 17 years.

Tensions were also raised following another slew of US sanctions against European companies working on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which the EU and US also reached an agreement over.

Read more: US and Germany strike a deal over Nord Stream 2

The US revealed it would be removing Section 232 tariffs on EU steel and aluminium while the bloc would work on rebalancing its measures against the US.

“The global arrangement will add a powerful new tool in our quest for sustainability, achieving climate neutrality, and ensuring a level playing field for our steel and aluminium industries", Von der Leyen said. 

"Defusing yet another source of tension in the transatlantic trade partnership will help industries on both sides. This is an important milestone for our renewed, forward-looking agenda with the US", she added.

Joe Biden has been looking into reversing a number of Trump's policies while attempting to foster a closer relationship with the bloc since ascending to the presidency in January.

Read more: Polish coal miners stage protest against EU court order to close Turów mine

The EU has been under heavy pressure from steelmakers to lift the tariffs. It is expected the US will still allow as much steel from the EU as it did when the tariffs were in place, if not more.

Before the tariffs were imposed the EU exported around 5 million tonnes to the US before Trump instigated the tariffs, reportedly for national security reasons.

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