EU urges U.S. to cut steel tariffs and honour July trade deal

European Union ministers will urge senior U.S. trade officials to implement more elements of the July EU–U.S. trade deal on Monday, including cutting tariffs on EU steel and lifting duties on goods such as wine and spirits.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are in Brussels for their first meetings with EU trade ministers since taking office.

The officials will join the ministers for a 90-minute working lunch focused on key transatlantic trade issues, including Chinese export restrictions on rare earths and semiconductors.

Under the end-July agreement, the United States set 15% tariffs on most EU goods, while the European Union committed to removing many of its duties on U.S. imports.

That process may not be completed until March or April, pending approval from the European Parliament and EU governments, a delay that EU diplomats say has frustrated Washington.

While Brussels insists implementation is on track, the bloc is also pressing the U.S. to advance on agreed areas, particularly steel and aluminium.

The United States currently applies a 50% tariff on the metals, and since mid-August has extended the duty to the metal content of 407 derivative products, including motorcycles and refrigerators. More items could be added next month.

EU diplomats warn that these actions, along with the prospect of new U.S. tariffs on trucks, critical minerals, planes and wind turbines, risk undermining the July deal.

“We’re at a delicate moment,” one diplomat said.

“The U.S. is looking for reasons to criticise the EU as we are trying to get them to work on steel and other unresolved matters.”

Brussels also wants a wider range of its products returned to low pre-Trump tariff levels, including wine, spirits, olives and pasta.

The bloc says it is ready to discuss broader regulatory cooperation in areas such as automotive standards, EU purchases of U.S. energy, and joint efforts on economic security in response to Chinese export controls.

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