On February 10, 2025, President Trump signed a new Proclamation abolishing as of March 12, 2025 the quota system for the EU and imposing 25% tariffs on all steel products imported into the U.S.. This effectively puts the end to current agreement between the U.S. and the EU which kept the tariffs on steel and alumininum at bay on both sides of the Atlantic for past years.

The EU immediately announced that this U.S. action will trigger firm and proportionate countermeasures. EU Trade Ministers are expected to convene on February 12, 2025 to prepare a coordinated response.

So, what are those measures and how can it affect your business?

Existing tariffs, which came to existence in 2018 and were suspended since 2021, are expected to come back to life. The products affected are not only steel and aluminium but a large number of products, such as sweetcorn, kidney beans, rice, peanut butter, bourbon whiskey, tobacco products, cotton products, footwear, motorcycles, and many others. The additional ad valorem duties are of a rate between 10% and 50%. The existing list of products exported from the US and targeted by the EU are set out in Annexes I and II of the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/724 of 16 May 2018 (as amended) and in Article 1 of the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/502 of 6 April 2020. If no new agreement is reached, the existing EU tariffs will automatically resume on March 31, 2025.

However, taking into account the scope of the U.S. tariffs additional EU tariffs on other products can be expected. Stay tuned.

Background of the measures

On March 8, 2018, President Trump signed two Proclamations to impose additional duties of 25% and 10% respectively on certain imports of steel and aluminum products into the United States, including the European Union. Those measures took effect on March 23, 2018. In response to these measures, the EU imposed a rebalancing tariff from 10% to 50% effective as of June 20, 2018. 

On October 31, 2021 the EU and the US announced the establishment of a quota-tariff system on imports into the US of EU steel and aluminum products, as a result of which the EU agreed to  suspend its tariff increase. That agreement is set to expire on March 31, 2025.

Tags: EU, European Union, Steel, tariffs
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Photo of Daniel Cannistra Daniel Cannistra

Dan Cannistra is a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. His practice focuses on legislative, executive and regulatory representation of domestic and international clients on a broad spectrum of international trade matters. Dan has represented domestic and foreign companies in over 75

…

Dan Cannistra is a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. His practice focuses on legislative, executive and regulatory representation of domestic and international clients on a broad spectrum of international trade matters. Dan has represented domestic and foreign companies in over 75 U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty cases before the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission under the Tariff Act of 1930. Many of these matters involved appeals to the U.S. Court of International Trade, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, binational panels under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and dispute settlement proceedings before the World Trade Organization (WTO). Dan has also represented clients in antidumping proceedings in the European Union, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, India, Thailand, Singapore, Guatemala and Taiwan.

Prior to joining Crowell & Moring, Dan was a director in a national accounting firm providing customs and international trade guidance to multinational clients related to the supply and distribution of goods and services across international borders. Areas of specialization included antidumping and countervailing duties and policy, trade remedies and litigation, free trade agreements and negotiations, classification and valuation, and international trade and development.

Dan’s government appointments include service to U.S. Trade Representative on the roster of international trade practitioners to resolve antidumping disputes involving NAFTA members. For the European Commission, Dan provided advice and training on international trade and antidumping methodology and practice. In addition, Dan has served as an international trade consultant to the governments of Guatemala and Singapore, providing technical advice to these governments on the application of international trade regulations consistent with international law and World Trade Organization agreements and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, Agreement on Antidumping.

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Photo of Maria Krestiyanova Maria Krestiyanova

Global business operations present companies with specific challenges, and Maria supports her clients as they navigate the complicated world of international trade law and intertwined disciplines such as trade remedies, customs law, and the WTO law. Maria has a particular focus on trade…

Global business operations present companies with specific challenges, and Maria supports her clients as they navigate the complicated world of international trade law and intertwined disciplines such as trade remedies, customs law, and the WTO law. Maria has a particular focus on trade defense instruments and extensive experience dealing with anti-dumping, anti-subsidy, and safeguard investigations in the EU, the Eurasian Economic Union, and other jurisdictions worldwide. Maria helps her clients to choose the very best strategy from both a legal and business point of view by analyzing and auditing sales, financial, and cost accounting data.

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