Press Statement
74 U.S. and EU Organizations Urge U.S. and EU to Reach Agreement to Remove Retaliatory Tariffs on Products Unrelated to Transatlantic Trade Dispute
“The clock is ticking, time to end tariffs once and for all”
Ahead of the G20 Heads of State and Government Summit to be held in Rome this weekend, 74 organizations representing sectors unrelated to the Section 232 steel and aluminum dispute urge U.S. and EU leaders to reach an agreement to remove retaliatory tariffs, and the threat of tariffs, on products unrelated to the dispute.
Since June 2018, our industries, suppliers and supply chains have greatly suffered from the imposition or threat of tariffs stemming from the steel and aluminum dispute, which is wholly unrelated to our sectors. The last 18 months have been particularly challenging due to the COVID-19 crisis. We are only slowly starting to rebound from this crisis, while facing supply chain and logistics disruptions. Tariffs, and the threat of tariffs, are acting as major barriers at a time when we want to focus on creating jobs, growth and investments in both Europe and the United States.
We welcome the EU’s decision not to impose the second tranche of rebalancing tariffs on June 1 to de-escalate the Section 232 dispute and the pledge made by the U.S. and EU to find a solution before December 1. However, with only a month left before the December 1 deadline, we now need to see a permanent resolution of this dispute which has already lasted far too long. This will allow the EU and U.S. to strengthen the transatlantic trading relationship, which is of key importance to our industries, and to tackle pressing common challenges together, in a spirit of unity.
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List of signatories: