The EU expects the US to lower tariffs on steel and aluminum products

EU representatives believe that the US will soon simplify its broad tariffs on products containing steel and aluminum, Bloomberg reports.

This issue is a key obstacle in trade negotiations between the parties, the agency notes.

According to sources familiar with the bloc’s position, the Trump administration may reduce the number of goods subject to a 50% tariff rate applied to derivative products containing these metals in a few weeks.

The EU has long sought to ease this broad tariff, which officials say violates a trade agreement signed in 2025. The US regularly reviews the list of derivative goods subject to the 50% tariff, which currently exceeds 400 items.

As European Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic told European lawmakers, the American side has assured them that they know this is a big problem for Europeans and that the issue is being studied.

The planned changes will not affect tariffs on commodity forms of metals.

At the same time, according to Reuters, at a hearing in the European Parliament, Šefčovič noted that the EU was facing a «transition period» lasting several months in its relations with the US following the new tariffs imposed by Trump, which threatened to undermine the trade agreement.

The European Commissioner for Trade said that Trade Representative Jamie Greer and Trade Minister Howard Lutnick had assured him that they would abide by last year’s agreements. The US is currently seeking a solution following the Supreme Court ruling.

Sefcovic called on the European Parliament’s trade committee, which postponed a planned vote on the abolition of EU import duties on the US, to hold it in March. After that, negotiations between legislators and governments of the bloc countries on a joint text will still be needed before the final vote in the European Parliament.

Trump’s global tariffs came into effect on February 24. A few hours before they took effect, the US Customs and Border Protection sent a memo informing importers that the rate would initially be 10% and would apply to «every country for 150 days, unless a specific exemption is granted.» As for the 15% announced by the US president, the administration is working on raising it by a separate decree to be signed by Trump, but no deadline has been set.

It should be recalled that, following the US Supreme Court’s decision, the country’s trading partners hope that the agreements reached will be honored.