The European Union and the United States agreed today, May 17, that they will work towards addressing steel and aluminum excess capacity and the deployment of effective trade measures. European Commission executive vice president Valdis Dombrovskis began discussions with US trade representative Katherine Tai and commerce secretary Gina Raimondo, with the three officials agreeing they will avoid taking actions that could negatively affect bilateral trade. "During a virtual meeting last week, the leaders acknowledged the need for effective solutions that preserve our critical industries, and agreed to chart a path that ends the WTO disputes following the US application of tariffs on imports from the EU under Section 232," a joint EU-US statement said. Both sides also reiterated their commitment to holding countries that support trade-distorting policies such as China to account.
The two sides agreed to a partial truce with the US in a dispute over American metals tariffs imposed by former president Donald Trump. The European Commission said it would suspend a proposed hike in its retaliatory tariffs that would have added a number of products, from lipstick to sports shoes, and doubled to 50 percent the duties on US bourbon whiskey, motorbikes and motor boats.