The Sound Of Economics

In June 2018, the US Trump administration introduced tariffs on European steel and aluminium exports, starting a long-time dispute between the two trade partners. On 31 October 2021, the European Union and the United States agreed on temporary measures to settle their dispute over US Section 232 ‘national security’ tariffs on EU steel and aluminium products. In addition to opening tariff rate quotas for historical EU export volumes, the joint EU-US statement mandates negotiations on a “global steel and aluminium arrangements to restore market-oriented conditions and address carbon intensity”, with a deadline of 31 October 2023. As this deadline approaches, negotiators from Brussels and Washington are scrambling to get a deal. At the same time the discussions have been overlapping with the broader goals of supporting the green transition and need to be considered against the backdrop of the geopolitical rivalry between the USA and China.  In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro invites K