EU says it would react to U.S. steel tariffs, awaits details

The European Commission said on Monday it would react to protect EU interests after U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of impending metals tariffs, but will not respond until it has clarification of the measures.

Trump said on Sunday that he would introduce new 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports into the United States, in another major escalation of his trade policy overhaul.

The Commission said it had not received official notification of additional tariffs on EU goods and would not respond to "broad announcements" without details or written clarification.

"The EU sees no justification for the imposition of tariffs on its exports. We will react to protect the interests of European businesses, workers and consumers from unjustified measures," the Commission said in a statement.

A spokesperson said none of the potential measures outlined by the Trump administration, which include increasing tariffs to match those of other countries, were justified.

Trump's metals move, if confirmed, would mirror his action in his first term, when he imposed 25% tariffs on steel from many countries and 10% tariffs on aluminium. For the EU that covered 6.4 billion euros ($6.6 billion) worth of exports.

The EU responded in 2018 with an initial set of tariffs on 2.8 billion euros worth of U.S. goods, including bourbon and Harley Davidson motorcycles. It planned to add a further 3.6 billion euros of U.S. goods after three years.

By then, Joe Biden was U.S. president and the two sides agreed to suspend U.S. tariffs and EU countermeasures, the former until the end of this year, the latter until March 31.

The United States' suspension of tariffs amounted to a quota of 3.3 million metric tons of steel and 384,000 tonnes of aluminium from EU producers, based on historical averages.

EU steel producers have in practice not met the quota due to a rigid quota system and limits on cargo shipments, so export volumes have dropped by about 1 million tons to 2.2 million in 2019-2024 compared with the period before Trump tariffs.

EU steel exports have been worth about 3 billion euros per year on average over the past decade.

A major industry concern is that the 15 million tons the United States imported last year from countries other than the EU will be redirected towards the bloc if tariffs are imposed.

"It is the same story as during Trump I, so our response probably will be the same," one EU diplomat said.

($1 = 0.9702 euros)