With the change in administration under Donald Trump, the US tariffs on steel and aluminum products are being reinstated. As of 12th March 2025, all previously existing exceptions and suspensions, including those for the European Union, will be lifted, and the tariffs will come back into effect. Additionally, the scope of affected products will be expanded: In addition to the goods already listed under Proclamations 9705 (2018) and 9980 (2020), as well as position 9903.80 of the US Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTSUS), further HTSUS codes from Proclamations 10895 and 10896 (2025) will now be subject to the tariffs. The specific commodity codes can be found on the last 2-3 pages of the proclamations.

A 25 percent additional tariff will be applied to all affected goods on top of the regular import duty. This measure will apply to all steel and aluminum products, regardless of their country of origin.

The reinstatement of the tariffs marks a continuation of the trade dispute that began in 2018. Although there were temporary relaxations of the measures, the recent developments indicate that trade tensions are rising once again.

In this context, the European Commission has published a questions and answers document explaining the tariff policy between the EU and the US and clarifying that value-added tax on EU-produced goods should not be considered a discriminatory measure against foreign products.

The return and expansion of US tariffs represent a significant challenge for the European steel and aluminum industry and are likely to further strain the trade relations between the EU and the US. It remains to be seen how the EU will respond to this issue.

Sources: Chamber of Industry and Commerce for the Palatinate (in German) , Möllenhoff Rechtsanwälte (Schlagbaum Newsletter 02-2025) (in German)