BIDEN GIVES A BREAK TO THE SPANISH STEEL INDUSTRY

BIDEN GIVES A BREAK TO THE SPANISH STEEL INDUSTRY BY PARTIALLY LIFTING TARIFFS IN THE U.S.

U.S. President Joe Biden will partially lift the tariffs that are sinking the Spanish and European steel industry. He announced this during his visit to Rome during the recent G-20 summit. Undoubtedly a triumph for the European Union and Spain that put an end, in part, to the harsh restrictions put in place by former President Donald Trump in 2018 and that especially affected European steel and aluminum. Spain is one of the most affected by these taxes against imports.

Although the White House is still finalizing the details for Trump’s withdrawal of steel and aluminum taxes, this will be partial in principle. In this way, Biden has managed to turn around Trump’s protectionist policy, after lifting tariffs in response to the Google tax three years ago.

The harsh measures have seriously affected Spain, which has seen its steel exports to the US plummet in recent years. The number of people living in the UK has fallen by more than half, while in other European countries such as France, Germany, Italy and Sweden it has risen.

From January to May 2020, Spain sold to the USA. goods equivalent to 152,487 tons of steel valued at $116 million. Between January and May 2021, that volume fell to 74,657 tons, worth just 74.6 million.

When Trump approved the tariffs, he did so on national security grounds, thanks to a 1962 law that allowed him to do so. Its aim was to create jobs in the steel industry, something it achieved in a very modest way until the pandemic was declared in 2020. Currently, in the U.S. there are some 390,000 employees in the sector, half of what there were in 1990.

The US Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo, says that %22this agreement is positive because it lowers costs for US manufacturers and consumers%22. This announcement has stopped the EU’s intention to increase tariffs on in-demand US products such as Harley Davidson motorcycles and Kentucky whiskey by 50%. Finally, Biden has lifted one of the main sticking points in U.S.-U.S. relations. and the EU because of the risk that the EU would carry out the tariff measure.

However, the improvement will be partial, as the White House is currently negotiating which parts it will and will not withdraw, as well as under what conditions. The final results will be announced before the end of the year.