US President Donald Trump's announcement that tariffs on steel and aluminum will be raised from 25 to 50 percent undermines ongoing efforts to negotiate a trade deal with the United States, a spokesperson for the European Commission told Reuters.
- We strongly regret the announced increases in US tariffs on steel imports from 25 to 50 percent. This decision adds further uncertainty to the global economy and increases costs for consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, the spokesperson wrote in an email.
The spokesperson added that "the increase in tariffs also undermines ongoing efforts to reach a negotiated solution."
Trump announced the increased tariffs on steel on Saturday night Danish time during a visit to a steel mill in the US state of Pennsylvania. According to the president, the new tariffs, which apply to both steel and aluminum, will come into effect on June 4.
Ready to respond
The EU is ready to respond to the US, according to the spokesperson for the European Commission.
- The European Commission is currently in the process of concluding consultations on expanded countermeasures. If a mutually acceptable solution is not reached, both existing and new EU measures will come into effect on July 14 - or earlier if circumstances require, the spokesperson told Reuters.
Trump has made varying statements about tariffs on foreign goods since taking office in January.
On April 2, he announced a list of varying tariffs - so-called reciprocal tariffs - aimed at goods from abroad. He subsequently paused the tariffs for 90 days, after which a lower base tariff of ten percent became applicable to most countries.
Last week, he said that negotiations with the EU on a trade deal had reached a deadlock and that he recommended a 50 percent tariff on EU goods from June 1.
A few days later, the US president announced that he had agreed to extend a pause in the high tariffs against the EU until July 9, so that the parties could negotiate a solution together.
/ritzau/
Text, graphics, images, sound, and other content on this website are protected under copyright law. DK Medier reserves all rights to the content, including the right to exploit the content for the purpose of text and data mining, cf. Section 11b of the Copyright Act and Article 4 of the DSM Directive.
Customers with IP agreements/major customer agreements may only share Danish Offshore Industry articles internally for the purpose of handling specific cases. Sharing in connection with specific cases refers to journaling, archiving, or similar uses.
Customers with a personal subscription/login may not share Danish Offshore Industry articles with individuals who do not themselves have a personal subscription to Danish Offshore Industry.
Any deviation from the above requires written consent from DK Medier.
