EU Steel Industry Less Than Impressed By US Steel Tax Exemptions

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

14 June 2002

Eurofer, the European steelmakers association revealed on Wednesday that less than 10% of European steel exports are affected by the exemptions from US steel tariffs designed to mollify the 15 nation bloc.

Although US Undersecretary of Commerce, Grant Aldonas told EU minsters earlier this month that the tariff exemptions could potentially benefit 'many European companies', Christian Marie, an Eurofer official reveals that this is not in actual fact the case.

Speaking to AFP on Wednesday, Mr Marie revealed that 'less than 10%' of European-manufactured steel imported to the United States is exempted from the tariffs, which range from 8% to 30%. However, he added that: 'we are at the beginning of a procedure and we cannot make a judgement until the end, that is to say before the end of July.'

According to Mr Marie, the US authorities' early July deadline for examining exemption requests will need to be extended, due to the sheer volume of requests.

However, given the fact that July 3 is also the date on which the European Union plans to launch retaliatory import tariffs on American steel products, fruit juices, textiles, and gaming equipment, it seems unlikely that the United States will be too sympathetic to the plight of European steelmakers.

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