Thread by @CoppetainPU

THE US-EU AGREEMENT ON STEEL AND ALUMINIUM

Yesterday’s joint statement is here: trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/20… (H/T @AmyPorges)

It has 3 parts:

1. Cooperation
2. Market orientation and carbon intensity (“green steel”)
3. WTO dispute settlement

1/7

1. COOPERATION

(For “non-market excess capacity” read “China”)

Cooperation on trade remedies (duties to countervail subsidies, anti-dumping actions, safeguard tariffs), customs, monitoring, and responses to “non-market excess capacity”.

2/7 trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/20…

2. PROPOSED GLOBAL ARRANGEMENT to “restore market-oriented conditions”

• Others can join
• In 2 years
• Bring into international forums
• Limit market access for non-market-oriented/carbon-intense exporters
• Discipline, coordinate own policies

3/7 trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/20…

3. WTO DISPUTES

Current disputes against each other (DS548 and DS559) to be suspended and then terminated when procedures are agreed on less formal arbitration.

The arbitration is then suspended until either party seeks to use it.

4/7 trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/20…

3. WTO DISPUTES cont.

If arbitration proceeds (not before Oct 31 2022, after 30 days of consultation), it continues work already done in the formal dispute panel. Arbitrators will be the same panellists, if available

Intended: no new formal disputes

5/7 trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/20…

3. WTO DISPUTES cont.

The two present WTO disputes are:

DS548 brought by the EU against the US: wto.org/english/tratop…

DS559 brought by the US against the EU: wto.org/english/tratop…

6/7

The US also to restore normal tariffs (scrap additional tariffs) on specific quantities of EU steel/aluminium—a tariff quota—quantities based on pre-2018 historic import volumes

Q: is this WTO-compatible?

Details:
US: ustr.gov/about-us/polic…

EU: ustr.gov/about-us/polic…

7/7

CORRECTION: The link to the EU Q&A in tweet 7/7 ⬆️ is ec.europa.eu/commission/pre…