EUROFER President Talks Section 232 Tariffs at European Steel Day

Trade relations between the U.S. and the European Union are in a tough spot these days, as the U.S. imposed its Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs on the 28-member bloc (plus Canada and Mexico) recently, a decision yielding much consternation from the U.S.’s trading partners.
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European Steel Association President Geert Van Poelvoorde, speaking before European Steel Day last week, addressed the issue of the U.S. tariffs.
“The European steel industry condemns the US import tariffs on steel. This protectionist trade action is absurd – it hits the US’ own allies hardest,” Van Poelvoorde said. “We also now expect to face a large loss of market share in the US, a market that accounts for 16% of EU exports.”
Van Poelvoorde also reiterated the claim that the focus should be on global overcapacity (implicitly pointing the finger at China).
“There is the need to continue discussions with the US to address the root cause of this trade dispute: global steel excess capacity,” Van Poelvoorde. “We have to deal collectively with countries that subsidise production in order to target export markets, and there are international fora for this process. Unilateral measures are not the answer.
“In the meantime, we call for an EU safeguard to be deployed as quickly as possible – the longer the delay, the greater the injury to the European steel industry will be.”
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Referring to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, President Trump on Sunday announced his decision to withdraw from the G7 communique.
“Based on Justin’s false statements at his news conference, and the fact that Canada is charging massive Tariffs to our U.S. farmers, workers and companies, I have instructed our U.S. Reps not to endorse the Communique as we look at Tariffs on automobiles flooding the U.S. Market!” he tweeted.
Then, on Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the E.U. plans to strike back against the U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs with duties of its own, Reuters reported.