The meeting of EU Trade Ministers on Thursday 20 May gave them a broad overview of current trade issues. The EU’s relationship with the United States featured prominently, including in a video conference with US Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
“We have seen a willingness to address all differences, with a particular effort on steel and aluminium and civil aviation”, said Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Silva Santos.
Together, the meeting participants discussed the steel and aluminium dispute. The EU announced on 17 May that it would not apply its automatic tariff increase on a range of US products on 1 June 2021. This followed a joint statement by the US and the EU to work together on this issue (see EUROPE 12720/14).
“We have made it clear that we need to move quickly on steel and find a solution by the end of the year. The US Trade Representative told us that she understood our request, but that she was also confronted with a sector that needs to be strengthened”, said the French Trade Minister, Franck Riester, at a press conference.
As the safeguard measures put in place in 2018 to defend the European steel industry expire in June 2021, the Council discussed a possible extension. “From the European Commission’s side, we will be able to make a proposal to extend the safeguards or not in early June”, said EU Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.
Some ten member countries support this extension, including France. “We are in a phase where the relationship is working much better; positive signals are being sent from both sides, but that does not mean that we are not committed to achieving results in the short term”, Riester said.
However, three Member States are concerned about the possible consequences of an extension.
For Ms Tai, it is all about finding a solution to the problem of global steel overcapacity and doing it together with the EU.
Airbus/Boeing
Asked about the Airbus/Boeing dispute with the US, Mr Dombrovskis said he was confident that the dispute would be resolved before the end of the tariff suspension period on 10 June 2021. “We had extensive discussions on the subject with the Trade Representative just last week. She confirmed this timetable today; work is progressing well, so this timetable is realistic”, he assured.
WTO
The ministers had a face-to-face meeting with the WTO Director General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. They reminded him of their support for the reform of the organisation. “We share the ambition to reach a rapid agreement on fisheries subsidies before the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference”, welcomed Valdis Dombrovskis.
The Director General had earlier told MEPs that she was confident of such an outcome (see other news). She also stressed the need to work together with the EU and like-minded partners on WTO reform. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)