Mechanical engineering: Further steps required after the deal on US steel tariffs

Mechanical engineering: Further steps required after the deal on US steel tariffs

The compromise in the dispute over US punitive tariffs on steel and aluminum from Europe is well received by the stock exchange. Representatives of the German economy are relieved, but demand further steps.

Representatives of the German economy welcomed the compromise in the long-standing dispute over US special tariffs on steel and aluminum from the EU.

The mechanical engineering association VDMA spoke of a “milestone” for a positive transatlantic trade agenda, now further steps must follow. The largest German steel producer, Thyssenkrupp Steel, said it was a very welcome step in the right direction. The agreement between the EU and the USA was well received on the stock exchange.

“Finally, the currently biggest point of controversy in transatlantic trade has been resolved,” said Ulrich Ackermann, VDMA foreign trade expert. But there is still a lot to be done. Among other things, negotiations on the elimination of all industrial tariffs are necessary.

On request, Thyssenkrupp Steel announced that the USA was not a core market for the company and that overall exports to the country were only slightly affected. Defusing the conflict will help “to steer relations with our American customers back into the usual commercial path”.

On the stock exchange, steel stocks such as Salzgitter, Klöckner & Co and Thyssenkrupp initially rose by two to four percent. “Customs duties have never been and are never well received on the stock exchanges. Every abolition therefore lifts the mood here, ”wrote market expert Thomas Altmann from asset manager QC Partners.

The US and the EU reached an agreement on the provisional settlement of their dispute over the weekend. The agreement in principle stipulates that certain quantities of steel and aluminum may in future be imported into the USA from the EU countries free of duty.

The EU is lifting special tariffs on US products such as bourbon whiskey and jeans. They were enacted in retaliation for the steel and aluminum tariffs introduced in 2018 by former US President Donald Trump.

Source From: Stern

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