The European Union postponed its plans for quick retaliation against the US over the steel tariffs imposed last March. A top European trade official said that the Bush Administration's decision to exclude 76,000 tons of European steel exports from the tariffs persuaded the 15-nation group to delay hitting back for now. But he cautioned that Europe will impose $366 million in tariffs on US exports if more products are not exempted in the next two months. Under pressure from Europe, the Bush Administration has granted five rounds of exemptions, and more are expected in August. Over 220 product exemptions have been granted so far. The EU has however, already filed with the World Trade Organization a list of proposed retaliatory tariffs on US products that would be applied if its dispute with the US over steel tariff increases is not resolved. Depending on the product, the proposed EU retaliatory tariffs are 8%, 13%, 15%, 30% and 100%. To view the retaliation list and EU decision document, go to http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/dat/2002/. To obtain more information about the status of US-EU discussions on steel, call USTR's European Affairs Office at 202-395-3320.
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