US, European Union plan new China steel tariffs aimed to end trade row

The United States and the European Union are working on an agreement for new tariffs aimed at excess steel production from China and other countries, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.
 

The measures would primarily target imports from China that benefit from non-market practices, it said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The scope of the measures, covering other countries that could be targeted and the level of the tariffs, are still being discussed, the report said.

The agreement would be part of the Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminum that the EU and the Biden administration have been negotiating since 2021, the report said.
 

“The EU and the US are fully committed to achieving an ambitious outcome for the Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminium (GSA) negotiations by October 2023,” a Commission spokesperson said.

In 2018, US President Donald Trump imposed duties of 25 per cent  on imports of steel and 10 per cent on aluminum imports, so as to shield US producers, sparking a major trade dispute with the EU.

China export slump eases as economy looks for stability

China’s trade slump eased in August, adding to early signals the worst may be over for some parts of the world’s second-largest economy as it tries to regain momentum. Overseas shipments fell 8.8 per cent in dollar terms from a year earlier while imports contracted 7.3 per cent, both better than estimates and significantly less severe than July’s downturn. The trade surplus was $68 billion for the month. “Improving China trade data is an early sign of growth stabilisation,” said Raymond Yeung, chief economist for greater China at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group. BLOOMBERG