Informed sources said that European Union officials are increasingly concerned about U.S. plans to broaden the list of EU products subject to high tariffs on steel and aluminum imports—an action that could undermine the spirit of the trade agreement the two sides signed earlier this summer.
According to Bloomberg, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and the trade ministers of the 27 member states plan to raise these concerns with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick during their meeting in Brussels next Monday.
The trade agreement reached last August between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and U.S. President Donald Trump aims to remove several EU-imposed tariffs on American goods, while capping U.S. tariffs on most European products at a maximum of 15%.
Despite this, the EU still faces U.S. tariffs of 50% on steel and aluminum exports, as well as on numerous metal-containing derivative products. Washington also reviews the list of derivative goods subject to the higher tariff rate several times a year.
According to sources who requested anonymity, the EU is deeply concerned that expanding the scope of goods subject to steel and aluminum tariffs—currently more than 400 products—along with the possibility of new, higher tariffs on various industries, could weaken the trade agreement between the EU and the United States and undermine the agreed 15% tariff ceiling.
EU Commission spokesperson Olof Gill stated that EU officials remain focused on working with the United States to fully implement the trade agreement, adding in an email: “The Commission continues to engage with the U.S. at both the political and technical levels.”
The 15% tariff ceiling currently applies to automobiles, and the EU is keen to ensure it also covers other industries that the United States might target with sector-specific tariffs in the future. As part of the agreement, a small number of EU products benefit from reduced U.S. tariffs, while the EU has introduced legislation to eliminate duties on certain U.S. industrial goods and some non-essential agricultural exports.
