WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President and Head of International Affairs Myron Brilliant issued the following statement on news the U.S. and the EU reached a deal on the U.S. Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum and the EU’s retaliatory tariffs on a variety of U.S. exports:
“The deal announced today offers some relief for American manufacturers suffering from soaring steel prices and shortages, but further action is needed. The EU’s move to suspend its retaliatory duties on American exports such as Bourbon, motorcycles, cosmetics and motorboats is welcome news for U.S. workers and companies.
“When these tariffs were imposed in 2018, the Chamber warned they ‘would directly harm American manufacturers, provoke widespread retaliation from our trading partners, and leave virtually untouched the true problem of Chinese steel and aluminum overcapacity.’ All of that came to pass. These tariffs hurt 50 American workers for every one they helped. We should learn from this experience.
“Meanwhile, Section 232 tariffs and quotas remain in place on imports from many other countries. The U.S. should drop the unfounded charge that metal imports from the U.K., Japan, Korea, and other close allies represent a threat to our national security — and drop the tariffs and quotas as well.”
