On Wednesday 4 April, a source close to the issue at the European Commission told EUROPE that the Commission and US administration remain in contact to define the operational working method for their future discussions on the problems of global industrial overcapacity and their trade friction, but no substantial announcement is to be expected this week.
The source said that European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström and US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who opened a dialogue process in Washington on 21 March between the Commission and Trump administration on 'issues of common interest' including the fight against overcapacity in steel and aluminium (see EUROPE 11986), "could have a new phone conversation this week", following up on their last conversation of 26 March (see EUROPE 11990).
The Commission still seeks assurance of a permanent exemption for the EU from the US customs duties on imports of steel and aluminium, which entered into force on 23 March and from which the EU is provisionally exempt until 1 May (see EUROPE 11988).
Against this backdrop, Germany and France are trying to appease the tension with Washington, as illustrated by the separate phone conversations on 27 March between Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and France's President Emmanuel Macron with US President Donald Trump (see EUROPE 11991). (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)