Germany’s new finance minister wants to discuss the possibility of a quota system for European steel exports to the USA, as a means of securing exemptions from the across-the-board 50% US duties.
Lars Klingbeil of the Social Democrats (SPD) is the finance minister of the new German government and is on his inaugural visit to the USA this week. Among other things, he will propose a quota system for steel when meeting with his US counterpart, Scott Bessent.
German media reports quote Klingbeil as saying that “a certain amount of the steel exports might cross the Atlantic without duties, or minor duties. This would be a key interest for the German steel industry with the many jobs linked to it, and I will address that topic.”
He notes that a quota would be a workable tool, and that he will be testing to what extent the US government would be willing to take steps in that direction, Kallanish reads on the website of public broadcaster ZDF.
Klingbeil underlines that the topic would eventually be discussed at European level by representatives of the European Commission.
Christian Koehl Germany
