BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union (EU) will this week try to prevent the return of Donald Trump-era metals tariffs and mitigate the negative impact of the U.S. tariff reduction law. inflation (IRA) and its subsidies for electric vehicles (EV).
US President Joe Biden will host European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council head Charles Michel on Friday for a summit aimed at transatlantic unity on Ukraine and economic cooperation.
On the program, a draft joint declaration to combat global overcapacity of steel and aluminum and promote sustainable production.
Washington has asked Brussels to intervene against Chinese steel producers before the end of October, committing in exchange not to reinstate customs duties on EU steel and aluminum.
A number of EU countries stressed last week that any measures would have to comply with WTO rules, according to which any imposition of customs duties on a third country like China is impossible without a prior investigation aimed at identify excessive subsidies or dumping.
The two sides are also trying to reconcile the European system of tariffs on carbon emissions and the American approach to promoting the greening of the economy through subsidies.
These subsidies have irked EU countries because they contain local content requirements. For example, U.S. consumers can receive tax breaks if they purchase an electric vehicle, but only if its final assembly took place in North America.
The EU hopes the summit will also result in an agreement on critical minerals – cobalt, graphite, lithium, manganese and nickel – of which EU exports to the United States amounted to €3.5 billion in 2022.
(Reporting Philip Blenkinsop; French version Mariana Abreu, editing by Kate Entringer)
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