It was the flagship announcement of the summit between the European Union and the United States last week. The two partners said they wanted to give new impetus to their trade relations.
Both welcome the truce decided in the dispute between Airbus and Boeing. But in reality it is only a five-year suspension of customs duties. These taxes are estimated at 10 billion euros and affect products such as European wine or American tobacco.
This delay should make it possible to find a long-term solution. In other words, the trade dispute is not over and the European industry is therefore calling for action to be taken quickly. “I think the two trading groups must continue to negotiate to find solutions because we cannot continue like this for the next 10 years“, explains Axel Eggert, Managing Director of Eurofer.
Concrete progress is also weak on the thorny issue of US taxes on steel and aluminum imports from Europe. Former US President Donald Trump unearthed a 1962 legal weapon that was little used in the midst of the Cold War. This text allows customs duties to be imposed in the name of national security. The stake is therefore the lifting of these measures. “We have created a space to find a solution by suspending European countermeasures for six months. This gives us time to sit down and discuss the details in order to find a way out.“, precise Ursula von der Leyen.
The idea of reaching an agreement by the end of the year is wishful thinking for some experts. The political wind in Washington is not favorable to such an outcome before the midterm elections next year. “Steel is an industry that plays a significant political role in several districts that can tip the House of Representatives. Democrats only have a six-seat majority so they’re doing what they can to protect that lead“, analyzes Jabob Kirkegaard, researcher at the German Marshall Fund.
The current American president nevertheless wants a solution quickly. Joe Biden does not wish to keep an unnecessary open trade front with his close allies. Rather than poisoning transatlantic relations, the White House prefers to direct everyone’s attention to China. Beijing supplies the world market with its cheap, low-quality steel. “The European Union and the United States are the two main markets which suffer from the overproduction of steel caused by Chinese state aid and subsidies.“, adds Axel Eggert. This is why the two parties are approaching countries like Japan and Canada to find answers together. Faced with these many challenges, the transatlantic allies must therefore seek to move from words to deeds.
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