EU Trade Chief Says Time Is Running Out for Section 232 Resolution

European Union Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters that because of the work that needs to happen within the EU to get it done before retaliatory tariffs are scheduled to double, the U.S. and the EU need to reach an agreement by the beginning of November. Tariffs on the retaliation list are supposed to double on Dec. 1. Dombrovskis said this on Bloomberg TV; he also suggested to reporters that the import and export monitoring that was part of the removal of steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico is something that the EU is open to.

On Sept. 28, Tariffs Not Toasts sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, saying that 25% retaliatory tariffs on whiskey exports are devastating. "Whiskey exports have declined by 37 percent to the EU and by 53 percent to the UK," the group wrote. Whiskeys have been 61% of spirits exports, they said. They added that the United Kingdom is considering changing its retaliation list to include wine, and that a 25% tariff on American wine would imperil that $235 million market.

Although the Commerce Department imposed the Section 232 tariffs, USTR seems to be more active in negotiating how countries can exit from the tariffs.

A readout of Tai's Sept. 28 meeting with Dombrovskis only alluded obliquely to the dispute. "Ambassador Tai and Executive Vice President Dombrovskis discussed a wide range of bilateral and multilateral issues, including WTO reform and the upcoming MC12 agenda, as well as the challenges posed by non-market countries and economies, including China, that undermine American and European workers and businesses," the summary said.