Leibowitz: U.S.-EU Deal on Steel, Aluminum Tariffs—Breakthrough or Blip?

By Trade Attorney Lewis Leibowitz

At the last minute, the U.S. and EU announced a deal to keep the tariff wars from getting worse. Yesterday, at the G20 meeting in Rome, the two sides announced an agreement that will prevent major retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports to Europe from going into effect on Dec. 1. The U.S. will replace the existing tariffs on imports of steel (25%) and aluminum (10%) from the EU with a “tariff rate quota” system. I described the basic workings of a tariff rate quota last week. Today, we will look at the implications of the deal on the Section 232 regime.

Lewis Leibowitz

Lewis Leibowitz, owner of the Law Office of Lewis E. Leibowitz, practices in the areas of international trade law, customs law, and international commercial transactions. He represents clients before all federal courts and agencies dealing with international trade matters. Mr. Leibowitz advises and assists clients in diverse matters including trade remedies, customs, foreign-trade zones and free trade agreements, trade negotiations, and related matters. He can be reached at lewis.leibowitz@lellawoffice.com.