EU delays transatlantic steel sanctions
EU foreign ministers decided today to hold off on seeking €353m in steel trade sanctions against the United States, giving Washington more time to resolve the dispute.
The EU had threatened to impose retaliatory sanctions on goods ranging from textiles to fruits after the Bush administration enacted tariffs of up to 30% on 14 million tons of steel imports in March.
Instead, the EU foreign ministers, meeting in Brussels, reiterated calls for Washington to drop the tariffs “immediately.”
In a statement the EU added that it will “vigorously pursue” its challenge to the steel measures at the World Trade Organisation, and said it “reserved the right” to impose its own retaliatory action “at any date”, if a solution could not be found.
The EU had given itself a deadline of September 30 to either retaliate or hold back on the sanctions.
EU officials said Europe was eager to give Washington another signal that it wanted to solve the issue at the WTO in Geneva rather than deepening the dispute and threatening already touchy trade relations between the two sides.
Washington and Brussels are at odds over a number of trade issues – including European restrictions on beef raised on artificial hormones, genetically altered crops and US corporate tax breaks.
Responding to the tariffs introduced to protect US steelmakers, the EU drew up a list of retaliatory duties on products including Florida citrus fruits and textiles produced in North and South Carolina – all politically sensitive areas for Bush in November’s midterm Congressional elections.
Washington has exempted more than 50 percent of European steel imports from the tariffs in a concession which led to the EU deciding in July to postpone its counter-sanctions.
But the foreign ministers said the exemptions to date offered were not enough. “More than 40% of EU total steel exports to the US. are still subject to these US. protectionist measures,” they said.
A special WTO panel is expected to rule on whether the US. tariffs are legal under world trade rules in March 2003.
