The European Commission has confirmed the suspension of EU tariffs on US steel and aluminium.
The decision extends the existing suspension and includes the import of US boats.
The suspension will last until March 31 2025.
In a statement the European Boating Industry (EBI) said the step was positive for the industry.
“We very much welcome this step from the European Commission and our focus remains on achieving a permanent resolution for the benefit of our industry.”
Agreement
Earlier this month, the EBI, National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and ICOMIA, were co-signatories to a plea urging US and EU leaders to reach an agreement regarding the tariffs which were due to be reimposed on January 1 2024.
The tariffs were first introduced by the US in 2018, on €6.4 billion of European steel and aluminium exports. In response, the EU introduced rebalancing tariffs on US exports to the EU of a value of €2.8 billion.
In 2022, the EU suspended the measures until 31 December 2023 to provide time to work together on a longer-term solution.
The US replaced the US Section 232 tariffs with a tariff-based quota system based on historical trade volumes, resulting in above-quota EU steel and aluminium still being subject to tariffs. It’s estimated that the prolonged suspension of tariffs will result in EU steel and aluminium exporters saving around €1.5 billion in tariffs annually.
