Commission proposal to impose trade countermeasures against US obtains necessary support from EU Member States
Today, EU Member States have voted in favour of the European Commission’s proposal to introduce trade countermeasures against the United States.
The Commission’s proposal was made in response to the March decision by the US to impose tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium from the EU.
The EU considers US tariffs unjustified and damaging, causing economic harm to both sides, as well as the global economy. The EU has stated its clear preference to find negotiated outcomes with the US, which would be balanced and mutually beneficial.
Today’s vote of approval by Member States means that – once the Commission’s internal procedures are concluded, and the implementing act published – countermeasures will enter into force. Duties will start being collected as of 15 April.
These countermeasures can be suspended at any time, should the US agree to a fair and balanced negotiated outcome.
Commission proposal to impose trade countermeasures against US
US duties cause gloom in Germany: WV Stahl
The announcement by US President Donald Trump of a new set of duties – a general 10% for most countries but 20% for the EU – has rung alarm bells in Germany’s steel industry.
It was a “day of gloom for trans-Atlantic trade,” says Kerstin Maria Rippel, managing director of steel federation WV Stahl.
More than any other European country, Germany depends on exports, with many goods sent to the USA containing steel, she points out. Indirect steel exports through products such as machinery or tools add up to a steel volume of 2.4 million tonnes, Kallanish hears.
German machinery makers and plant builders association VDMA underlines the short-sightedness of Trump’s measures. Importing US manufacturers need machinery suppliers from abroad for certain key technologies, representing cooperation that has existed for decades, VDMA notes. In a poll made among members, 60% of the companies stated that they will be hit, or even strongly hit, by the new US tariffs.
Meanwhile, thyssenkrupp Steel Europe and Salzgitter have called for the European Commission’s Steel and Metals Action Plan to be implemented as swiftly as possible to shield the sector from the US tariff measures, Reuters writes. Their claim was brought forward at a virtual meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held on Monday.
The steelmakers also called for an introduction of binding minimum quotas for “European content” in private and public procurement in order to strengthen domestic markets, one participant said.
Tariff uncertainty prompts Worldsteel to pause short-range outlook
Uncertainty surrounding tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump has prompted the World Steel Association (worldsteel) to postpone its April 2025 Short Range Outlook (SRO), Kallanish discovers from an association press release.
“Worldsteel believes that the imposition of tariffs by the US administration could render the SRO outdated,” states the press release. “The SRO will be reviewed and reissued at an appropriate time.”
Brussels, Belgium-based worldsteel issues a biannual SRO for steel demand coinciding with its general meetings of members in April and October.
The organisation is one of the industry’s largest global associations, with members in every major steel-producing country.
European HRC prices up slightly amid still-positive sentiment
Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe at €654.38 ($716.63) per tonne on Tuesday, up by €2.38 per tonne from €652.00 per tonne the previous day.
The Northern European index was up by €9.38 per tonne week on week and by €23.00 per tonne month on month.
Offer prices for June/July delivery HRC in Northern Europe hovered around €670-700 per tonne ex-works, sources told Fastmarkets.
One buyer source reported some transactions being done at close to the lower end of the range, but that could not be widely confirmed by other market participants and most still regard €640-660 per tonne ex-works the workable level.
The current upward trend in the HRC prices in Northern Europe was attributed mainly to limited imports and the reduced domestic supplies, with actual demand stable at low levels, Fastmarkets understands.
But some customers who really needed to replenish stocks were willing to accept the new, higher prices, sources told Fastmarkets.
In Southern Europe, Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €631.25 per tonne on Tuesday, up by €2.50 per tonne from €628.75 per tonne the previous day.
The index was up by €6.25 per tonne week on week and up by €11.25 per tonne month on month.
One Italian supplier was heard offering HRC with lead times of 4-5 weeks at €660-670 per tonne delivered, which would net back to €650-660 per tonne ex-works.
A second Italian supplier, which was recently offering HRC at €630 per tonne ex-works was said to have withdrawn from the market, sources told Fastmarkets.
An integrated European mill was still offering June delivery HRC in the Italian market at €680-700 per tonne delivered, Fastmarkets understands, but demand in the Italian market remains subdued and no transactions were reported on Tuesday.
Some bids were heard at €620-630 per tonne ex-works, but suppliers were not willing to accept that level, sources said, but most buyers said the tradable level was closer to the bid level.
In terms of imports, Indonesian HRC was on offer to Italy at €560 per tonne CFR.
And Turkish HRC continued to be offered to Italy at €580-590 per tonne CFR, including the anti-dumping duty, with some small-volume transactions reported at close to that level, sources told Fastmarkets.
Europe looks set to apply counter tariffs on US imports; some key products could be spared
After a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council to discuss the tariffs, their effects on the EU economy and the EU’s response, the EU Commission said it was ready to negotiate with the US on tariffs, but it was also ready to move forward with counter tariffs of its own.
“The current trade situation with the United States, our most significant partner, is in a tough spot,” European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic told a press briefing after the meeting. “A range of tariffs is hitting significant portion of EU exports. In fact, €380 billion ($415 billion) worth of EU exports to the US, 70% of our total exports, are facing tariffs of 20% or 25%, or even higher when combined with existing most-favored-nation tariffs like 27.5% duty on passenger cars altogether.”
“While the EU remains open to and strongly prefers negotiations, we will not wait endlessly,” Sefcovic continued. “Until we see tangible progress, we will be working along three tracks: defend our interests through countermeasures, diversify our trade through new agreements and deter harmful trade diversions.”
President Donald Trump later said the US was not interested in negotiating with the EU “unless they pay us a lot of money on a yearly basis.”
Widespread measures considered
The Commission on Monday sent a list of goods and proposed tariffs to member states in response to US tariffs on aluminium and steel. The member states are expected to vote on the measures on Wednesday April 9. The final list will be adopted on April 15. The first set of measures would come into effect that day and a second set would kick in on May 15, Sefcovic said.
According to reports, the list is wide-ranging and includes diamonds, eggs, dental floss, sausages and poultry. They indicate the EU is also considering tariffs on soybeans from December 1. Sources close to the matter said they believed most pulp and paper products have now been removed from the list.
The EU imports around 900,000 tonnes per year of pulp from the US, mostly fluff pulp, and close to 600,000 tpy of paper and board. On the other hand, the EU exports a lot of paper and board to the US, about 1,600,000 tpy, and a lesser amount of pulp, around 350,000 tpy.
The EU is reportedly also considering quotas and/or tariffs on some metals. The European Commission declined to comment officially on the proposed countermeasures when contacted by Fastmarkets.
Soybeans added to the list
In terms of additional countermeasures for agriculture products, it seems only soybeans are mentioned, as US corn is already expected to be subject to a potential 25% tariff starting from mid-April, when a previously suspended tariff is reintroduced.
In 2024, the US was the second-biggest supplier of soybeans into the EU with 6.01 million tonnes imported or 33.6% of the total. If the talk of a 25% tariff on US soybeans from December is confirmed, it means that the EU has to find an alternative source, and most probably will switch even more toward Brazil, which is already the main supplier with a 41% market share.
At the same time, the timing of potential implementation means that the EU could still try to import the needed amount of US beans before that. The US soybean export season usually starts in September/October.
No clarity on metal
There has been no clarity on possible exemptions for metals so far, according to Fastmarkets’ sources.
“In response to US outrageous tariffs on steel and aluminium, the EU will implement countermeasures in mid-April; as of today [April 8] it’s still not clear if some specific metals could be exempt from these countermeasures,” a source familiar with the matter said.
The so-called “liberation” tariffs, announced by the US administration on 2 April, affect all US trade partners, including the EU. All EU-origin imports to the US are now faced with 20% blanket tariffs from April 9, affecting an already-struggling European manufacturing sector.
The “liberation” tariffs will not target steel and aluminium, which are already subject to 25% tariffs in the US as of March 12.
Some sources suggested that Europe’s rebalancing countermeasures would include a mirror 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports from the US, as was suggested in March.
But sources suggested that the EU might “spare” some metals from tariffs, like the US did.
Notably, the US has granted exemption from “liberation” tariffs for some products, including coal and a wide number of non-ferrous metals. The full list of all exempted products can be found here.
Several sources also suggested that for some critical products the EU might set alternative agreements – setting tariff-rate quotas, as it was done for example in 2021-2022 respectively.