Steel Products

Goodbye to Section 232 Tariffs in December?

June 9, 2021

A deadline has been set by the European Union and the U.S. to end Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs, and any retaliatory measures, by Dec. 1, according to a draft communiqué obtained by Reuters. An announcement of the agreement is expected at the G7 Summit next week in Brussels.

“We commit to work towards lifting before 1 December 2021 all additional/punitive tariffs on both sides linked to our steel and aluminum dispute,” the draft said.

The communiqué also includes a commitment to ending the dispute regarding subsidies to aircraft companies, Boeing and Airbus, by July 11.

Lifting of the tariffs will be welcomed by manufacturers in the U.S. although they are still strongly supported by the steel industry. But all things come to an end. As the president of the Steel Manufacturers Association President Philip Bell noted in a SMU Community Chat webinar, “all tariffs have a shelf life.”