On Tuesday, 25 May, MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA) called for the European Commission to extend the safeguard measures on steel and aluminium.
The European Commission is in the process of assessing this potential extension with a view to making a proposal in early June. The safeguard measures that the EU put in place in 2018 in order to protect the European steel industry expire in June 2021.
For Helmut Scholz (The Left, Germany) as well as for several of his colleagues, the EU does not yet have “the capacity to leave the safeguard measures behind”. INTA Committee Chair Bernd Lange (S&D, Germany) shared this opinion and asked the European Commission to explain its vision and expectations regarding US taxes on steel and aluminium.
Head of Unit at DG Trade, Joaquin Fernández Martin reiterated that the European Commission had just finished the evaluation phase on this issue and is expected to make a decision on a possible extension this week.
According to Kathleen Van Brempt (S&D, Belgium), this answer is not satisfactory. “I am disappointed that the [European] Commission has not yet made its decision”, she stated.
Last week, Member States discussed the issue at the ‘Trade’ Council. Ten or so countries support an extension of the measures (see EUROPE 12723/8).
In the event that the European Commission’s proposal moves towards an extension, Member States will have to approve it by a qualified majority. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)