The European Union and the USA want to settle the dispute over steel and aluminum imports

It was the current trade conflict between the European Union and the United States that was instigated by then-US President Donald Trump in 2018. Trump had imposed special tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. The European Union responded with retaliatory duties on US products such as jeans, bourbon whiskey, motorcycles and peanut butter. Trump justified the tariffs for “national security interests.” However, the European Union considered this unreasonable and assumed the aim was to protect the US economy from unwanted competition.

A spokeswoman for the European Union Commission said on Monday that the tougher tariff retaliation planned by the European Union on June 1 will be suspended for the time being. To ensure the best possible constructive environment for these joint efforts, it was agreed to avoid changes in issues that have a negative impact on bilateral trade, according to the joint statement on the subject.

The European Union retaliatory tariffs were set in June 2018, and as a first step, it stipulated special tariffs on imports from the United States valued at € 2.8 billion per year. In the second step, there should now be additional special tariffs on US goods with a trade value of 3.6 billion euros. Retaliatory tariffs are designed to offset the damage done to the European Union by US tariffs.

The statement said that the agreement to start dispute settlement negotiations came after talks between European Commission Vice President Valdes Dombrovskis, US Trade Representative Catherine Tay and US Trade Minister Gina Raymondo. Among the European Union, the current trade disputes are also expected to play a role in the first EU-US summit with US President Joe Biden in mid-June. In addition to the row over steel and aluminum exports, there should also be disagreement over subsidies to the European aircraft factory Airbus And the American aircraft manufacturer Boeing Still surrounded. It also led to the imposition of special tariffs on both sides.