“We will increase the tariffs on steel to the United States from 25 percent to 50 percent, which the steel industry will further secure,” Trump said in a speech to the workers of a steel mill in the state of Pennsylvania to justify the step. “Nobody will get around it,” he added. In his online service Truth Social, Trump later added that the serves would also apply to aluminum imports.
The EU Commission said it regretted the tariffs announced by Trump. With his statements, Trump undermines the “persistent effort” to achieve a negotiating solution for the trade dispute with the United States. Trump’s announcement means “additional uncertainty” for the global economy and increases the costs for consumers “on both sides of the Atlantic”.
On behalf of the 27 EU member states, the EU Commission is currently negotiating with the United States on trade affairs. In the event that no agreement is reached, the Commission announced retaliatory measures. These would come into force on July 14th, if necessary, earlier, the Commission’s statement said. On Friday, EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic declared that he continued to agree and avert the tariffs.
Trump has already occupied the EU with several customs surcharges, including 25 percent tariffs on cars, steel and aluminum. Last week he had threatened with general tariffs on EU goods in the amount of 50 percent, but then initially postponed them again.
Trump’s customs policy is also likely to overshadow the Chancellor Merz’s visit to the USA announced for Thursday. During the inaugural visit of the Chancellor in Washington, it will also be about trading policies in addition to the Russian attack war against Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, said government spokesman Stefan Kornelius.
Representatives of the German economy commented concerns about the consequences of the tariff increases announced by Trump: These are a “massive burden” for the industry, the chief manager of the Stahl business association, Kerstin Maria Rippel, told the AFP news agency. German stahlexports in the United States would be severely difficult.
In addition, there is a risk that manufacturers from other countries “redirect their steel planned for the US market to the EU market, warned Rippel. As a result, “the already significant import pressure on Europe will further exacerbate”.
The head of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), Volker Treier, described the announced doubling of the tariffs to 50 percent as “bitter setback for transatlantic trade relationships”. Instead of communication, now threatens escalation. In addition to the steel industry, the tariffs also have products such as machines or sports equipment. Over 1.2 million German jobs hung from the export to the United States, which is still the most important sales market in the Federal Republic.
“We currently need the opposite, less tariffs and more trade,” said the head of the foreign trade association BGA, Dirk Jandura. The EU Commission must negotiate with the United States hard and at the same time conclude new free trade agreements with other partners, he demanded.
Trump has been a tough trade policy course since the beginning of his second term in January, which has shaken the global supply chains and the stock markets.
The US president’s customs policy also employs the courts in the United States. A US trade court had lifted most of the customs surcharges decided by Trump on Wednesday. The president had relyed on an emergency law from 1977 when imposed on this tariff – according to the commercial court, he exceeded his powers.
The government appealed against the judgment. An appellate court took place. The tariffs can initially remain in force for the period of appeal procedure. However, this judge’s dispute are not affected by the already applicable import duties of 25 percent on cars, steel and aluminum and their announced doubling.
During his appearance on Friday in the Stahlwerk Mon Valley Works-Irvin, Trump also spoke about the controversial planned cooperation between the local steel producer Us Steel and the Japanese company Nippon Steel. Despite the cooperation, US Steel will remain under US control, the President assured. The contract with the Japanese steel company has not yet been concluded, Trump later said when he returned to Washington.
