Metal Tariff Talks With US In 'advanced Stages': EU Official

Talks between the United States and Europe to settle a dispute over steel and aluminum are at "advanced stages" and an agreement could be reached by early November, the EU trade commissioner said Tuesday

Washington, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Sep, 2021 ) :Talks between the United States and Europe to settle a dispute over steel and aluminum are at "advanced stages" and an agreement could be reached by early November, the EU trade commissioner said Tuesday.

Citing national security concerns, former president Donald Trump in June 2018 levied tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum from several countries, including the European Union.

The Europeans retaliated with tariffs on a host of American goods, including tobacco, corn, rice, orange juice, jeans and Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

On his current visit to Washington, EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said "discussions are in advanced stages, so I don't think there's a shortage of time.

" "There is a willingness to find a solution," he added, saying both sides had put in "very intensive" work on the issue.

He was to meet later Tuesday with US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. On Wednesday and Thursday, he will participate in the first meeting of the US-EU Trade and Technology Council in Pittsburgh.

The United States and EU agreed to settle the metals dispute by December 1.

However Dombrovskis said an agreement should be reached by early November "because we need more or less a month for internal EU procedures to make sure that its automatic increase of retaliatory tariffs does not take place."The commissioner said the new council is "proof of our willingness to deepen our cooperation" with Washington.