US sets conditions - Will lower steel tariffs if EU eases digital rules
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Washington could lower tariffs on European steel and aluminium, but only if the Europeans agree to ease enforcement of digital rules.
Lutnick, a close ally of President Donald Trump and negotiator of the trade deal with the EU that imposed 15% tariffs, said Europeans must review how they implement key digital regulations if they want relief. He stopped short of calling for the rules to be scrapped, but said the way they are implemented should be “more balanced” for U.S. technology companies. Brussels is seeking a reduction in the 50% tariffs that the Trump administration imposed on European aluminum and steel in June.
“The United States does not want the EU to remove these rules, but to find a balanced approach that works for us,” Lutnick told reporters in Brussels. “Then, together with them, we will address the steel and aluminum issues.”
The implementation of the trade deal signed over the summer was at the heart of the discussions, which were “open and direct,” according to an EU diplomat. The sides reached a trade deal in July, in which the US tripled tariffs on the bloc while the Europeans agreed to remove tariffs on most US industrial goods. However, US tariffs on European steel and aluminium remained at 50% despite the pact.
Lutnick also met with the EU's Technology Commissioner, who stressed the importance of the Digital Market Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA), the bloc's two key regulations. The comments suggest the Commission is not ready to ease them at the moment.
The EU is working hard to explain its laws and has stressed that there are no discriminatory practices against US companies. According to Brussels, the rules are the same for everyone operating in the EU's single market, regardless of origin. However, the US insists that is not the case and that US companies are being penalised.
Brussels has recently launched investigations into Amazon and Microsoft to prevent their abuse of the technology market. The EU also fined Google 2.95 billion euros for violating competition rules, despite threats from the US.
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