Steel tariff in exchange for digital regulations. The US gives a soft ultimatum to the European Union

US Trade Secretary Howard Lutnick announced that Washington will tackle tariffs on steel and aluminum after the European Union uses his “advice and guidance” on digital policy. According to Lutnick, this includes: to create a “framework that the U.S. feels comfortable with.”

Lutnick, together with Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, took part in a meeting of EU ministers responsible for international trade on Monday in Brussels. One of the topics of conversation was the customs policy of the United States. The EU expects that tariffs on steel and aluminum for EU exporters will be reduced by the US to 15%.

– In the context of digital (policy), I hope that the European Union will take the advice and guidance we have presented today and resolve some of the outstanding issues. It will resolve them and create a framework with which we will feel comfortable, Lutnick said after the meeting.

– Once they establish a framework that we feel comfortable with and understand, and resolve these unresolved issues, (…), then I think we will be able to deal with steel and aluminum. We will try to develop a list and a model that will work well in the EU, said a representative of the American administration.

EU exporters of steel, aluminum and derivatives containing these metals remain subject to a 50% tariff in the US. The EU would like this sector to also be subject to lower tariffs of 15%, which were negotiated with President Donald Trump by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in July.

Greer said the United States has had serious concerns for many years about the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and other regulations governing the activities of U.S. digital companies in the EU.

– Often, the thresholds are set in such a way that they apply almost exclusively to American companies. Enforcement can be quite aggressive at times. Sometimes you find that complying with the law can be difficult. Sometimes our companies feel like the boundaries have been pushed. The penalties can be quite high, he said.

Greer said Washington realizes that these rules are important for the EU. – We just want to make sure that we control our companies that have global business models, that their global revenues will not change – he said.

Large digital companies with a dominant position in the EU market are subject to the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The goal of the DSA is to make big tech more accountable for the content shared through their platforms. In turn, the DMA is responsible for, among others: limit the dominant role of the largest players on the market and enable competition for smaller entities.

From Brussels Magdalena Cedro (PAP)

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