US' tariff stick 'wielded, EU plans to cut steel i

Beijing, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Faced with the "tariff stick" wielded by the "allies" of the United States on the other side of the Atlantic, the European Union not only announced the imposition of countermeasures, but also plans to reduce steel imports to protect the domestic steel market in Europe from impact.

On the 12th of this month, the United States officially implemented a 25% tariff on all imported steel and aluminum, which may further impact the EU steel industry, which is already facing fierce competition and soaring energy costs.

On the 19th, the Executive Vice President of the European Commission, Stefana S é zournes, announced that from April 1st, the EU will tighten its current steel industry safeguard measures. The first step will be to lower steel import quotas, with the goal of "reducing imports by nearly 15%" on the existing basis.

According to the EU steel import quota mechanism, steel products imported within the quota are exempt from tariffs, while those exceeding the quota are subject to a 25% tariff. Since July 2019, according to World Trade Organization rules, the EU has increased its steel import quota by over 25%. The current quota should expire at the end of June 2026 and cannot be extended. The European Commission plans to release a new safeguard mechanism in the third quarter of this year. According to S é journ é, in response to the steel industry's call, the new mechanism will be much stricter than the current measures, but the details have not yet been determined.

According to Reuters, in 2024, the European Union imported approximately 60 million tons of steel, of which about 30 million tons were within its quota.

Sejurne said that the EU will also revise the current public procurement rules next year to give priority to local steel producers in Europe. In terms of non trade measures, the European Investment Bank will launch a pilot project to ensure that long-term electricity supply contracts prioritize the needs of steel and aluminum manufacturers. The details of the project are scheduled to be announced in the second quarter of this year.

We want to keep our steel in Europe and be able to recycle it within Europe, "said S é zournes. This is a strategic issue. Without steel, there would be no defense industry, nor would there be an automotive industry. We want to preserve our industries

According to Agence France Presse, due to fierce competition, the European steel industry has lost nearly 100000 jobs in the past 15 years. The current US administration's "tariff stick" has raised concerns among European steel manufacturers that if steel producers from other regions try to avoid the US market and seek export destinations, a large number of cheaper steel products will flood into the EU, impacting the local steel industry.

To counter the 25% steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by the United States, the European Commission had originally proposed to impose tariffs on 4.5 billion euros (approximately 4.9 billion US dollars) worth of American products starting from April 1st, including a 50% tariff on American made bourbon whiskey, and an additional 18 billion euros (approximately 19.5 billion US dollars) worth of American products starting from April 13th. US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 200% tariff on all alcoholic beverages imported from the EU if the EU implements the aforementioned countermeasures.

According to EU Commissioner in charge of trade affairs, Malos Shevchovic, on the 20th at the European Parliament, the EU is considering postponing the first wave of countermeasures originally scheduled for April 1st to mid April, to be implemented simultaneously with the second wave of countermeasures. This way, we can negotiate the relevant list of countermeasures with all member countries at the same time, and also free up more time to negotiate with our American partners