EU, USTR Held Negotiation on Settling Section 232 Tariffs, Retaliatory Tariffs

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said she talked about "ongoing efforts to address global overcapacity in the steel and aluminum sectors and shared challenges posed by non-market economies" when she met with her European Union counterpart on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting in Sorrento, Italy. The EU did not issue its own readout of the meeting, but Valdis Dombrovskis tweeted, "Met [the] USTR, Ambassador Tai, to continue our discussions on finding a settlement on the Trump steel & aluminium tariffs #232. The work continues." He has previously said that an agreement on Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum has to be reached by early November in order to prevent retaliatory tariffs from doubling on Dec. 1. Those retaliatory tariffs have hurt the export of American spirits.

All of the trade ministers from the 20 largest economies, including China, agreed to a statement that said, in part: "Reducing trade tensions, tackling distortions in trade and investment, addressing supply chain disruptions and fostering mutually beneficial trade relations will be critical as economies respond to and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. We reaffirm that structural problems in some sectors, such as excess capacities, can cause a negative impact. Many G20 members affirm the need to strengthen international rules on industrial subsidies and welcome ongoing international efforts to improve trade rules affecting agriculture. Many of us highlighted agricultural subsidies and agricultural market access."