The US has confirmed that from 1 June European imports of steel will be subject to duties of 25%, Kallanish notes.

The news had been expected during recent days, despite on-going negotiations held since the initial announcement of the intention to impose new duties by the US in the first quarter of 2018.

“Today is a bad day for world trade,” EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmström said. “Over the last couple of months I have spoken at numerous occasions with the US Secretary of Commerce. I have argued for the EU and the US to engage in a positive transatlantic trade agenda, and for the EU to be fully, permanently and unconditionally exempted from these tariffs. Throughout these talks, the US has sought to use the threat of trade restrictions as leverage to obtain concessions from the EU. This is not the way we do business, and certainly not between longstanding partners, friends and allies.”

As anticipated, the EU is set to retaliate with measures against the imports of US products, including some steel products, set to become effective from 20 June. “The EU's response will be proportionate and in accordance with WTO rules. We will now trigger a dispute settlement case at the WTO, since these US measures clearly go against agreed international rules,” Malmström added. “We will also impose rebalancing measures and take any necessary steps to protect the EU market from trade diversion caused by these US restrictions."

The Commission will also continue to discuss the possibility to shield the EU steel market from damage caused by additional imports coming in as a result of the new US tariffs. A decision on the on-going investigation on possible new safeguard measures is expected soon, possibly during June.

Eurofer, the European steelmakers' association, fo example, is condemning the decision by the US but calls for a swift decision from Europe to safeguard the market. “Eurofer calls for a quickly-deployed safeguard that covers the full product scope that will be affected – and warns that there cannot be country exclusions if the safeguard is to function. However, the purpose is not to exclude imports: it is preventative remedial action against the threat posed by import surges”, Axel Eggert, director general of the association says.

Imports into Europe surged over 8% y-o-y during the first four months of the year. "2017 already represented a high-water mark for imports into the EU – making rapid corrective remedial action all the more imperative," Eurofer urges.