US says dispute with European Union over industrial metals tariffs may be resolved soon

Name: Trade ‘only one part of the battle‘ in China-Australia dispute, says legal expert Bryan Mercurio
Uploaded: 2021-09-27T19:21:17.000Z
Duration: 9 min 20 s
Description: Trade ‘only one part of the battle‘ in China-Australia dispute, says legal expert Bryan Mercurio

Biden administration will host EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis in Pittsburgh this week for inaugural meeting of US-EU Trade and Technology Council

Talks to resolve tariffs placed on steel and aluminium are ‘on a separate track … with the aim by the end of the year having a path forward’, says US official

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The Biden administration will host EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis in Pittsburgh this week for a forum on trade and technology. Photo: Reuters

Robert Delaneyin Washington

Published: 3:21am, 28 Sep 2021Updated: 6:35am, 28 Sep 2021

The US government said on Monday that it may resolve a dispute with the European Union over punitive tariffs on industrial metals soon as part of efforts to clear outstanding issues that might hamper work at a trade and technology forum that starts this week.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and other senior officials from US President Joe Biden’s administration will host EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for the inaugural meeting of the US-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC).

Formation of the body was announced in June, when Biden visited Brussels, as a way to promote “a democratic model of digital governance,” and is seen as a wider push by the US leader to strengthen alliances that will push back against China.

Talks to resolve the Section 232 tariffs placed on steel and aluminium are “on a separate track that was started back in June with the announcement that we would work with the European Union on these sectors, with the aim by the end of the year having a path forward, and those conversations have been ongoing, and will continue to to proceed”, a senior Biden administration official said.

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Trade ‘only one part of the battle‘ in China-Australia dispute, says legal expert Bryan Mercurio

Asked about the prospects for a resolution on the issue at an event in Washington earlier on Monday, Dombrovskis was quoted by Politico as saying: “We can be moderately optimistic about being able to resolve this dispute and find this solution and, in essence, not continue this Trump-era approach of confrontation between EU and US in trade.”

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