WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday extended the customs duty exemption for steel and aluminum exported from the European Union to the United States for two years, a move intended to allow continued discussions on low-carbon production.
Washington suspended in January 2022, a year after Joe Biden took office in the White House, the customs taxes of 25% on European steel and 10% on aluminum imposed by former President Donald Trump.
Brussels had meanwhile taken retaliatory measures, putting tariffs on a range of US products imported into the EU, from Harley Davidson motorcycles to whisky.
The European executive confirmed earlier this month that it was extending the suspension of these taxes until March 2025, in a context of resumption of negotiations since Joe Biden came to power.
The United States and the EU are seeking to agree on measures to combat excessive production of the metal in non-market economies, such as China, and to promote “green” steel.
These discussions, which were initially supposed to end this year, are dragging on.
In the presidential decree published Thursday, Joe Biden reported “significant progress” between the two camps which, he said, “continue their discussions”.
Zero-duty export quotas granted to the EU, which were due to expire at the end of this year, are being extended until December 31, 2025, it is stated.
(Writing by Kanishka Singh, Trevor Hunnicutt and Andrea Shalal; French version Tangi Salaün, edited by Jean Terzian)
Copyright © 2023 Thomson Reuters