European Commissioner for trade, Maroš Šefčovič, debates with MEPs about the recent decision of US president Donald Trump to impose 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium entering the country and how the EU should respond.
The US first introduced tariffs on certain steel and aluminium products in 2018 (at rates of 25% and 10%, respectively) with an unlimited duration. Later that year in June, the EU adopted rebalancing measures in response to the tariffs.
In October 2021, the EU and US agreed to start discussions on a global arrangement on sustainable steel and aluminium and to suspend steel and aluminium trade tariffs.
The European Union and the United States have the largest bilateral trade and investment relationship and make up the most integrated economic relationship in the world. EU-US trade in goods and services reached 1.6 trillion euros in 2023. This means that every day 4.4 billion euros worth of goods and services cross the Atlantic between the EU and the US.