EU industry ministers to meet over steel tariffs

Flags of the European Union flutter in front of the headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on December 12, 2024, prior to the bank’s press conference on monetary policy in the eurozone. – Faced with a stuttering economy, political turbulence in the eurozone and the prospect of renewed trade tensions with the United States, the European Central Bank is set to cut interest rates again. It would be the ECB’s third straight reduction as it increasingly focuses on spurring lending to boost consumer spending and business investment in the 20 countries that use the euro. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)

Paris, France — European industry ministers will meet in Paris on Thursday to discuss measures to maintain steel production in Europe in response to US tariffs, France’s industry ministry announced late Monday.

Europe’s steel industry is reeling from US President Donald Trump’s executive order to impose 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from March 12, despite warnings from Brussels.

Ministers from some 15 European steel producing countries are expected at the Paris meeting, the French ministry said.

READ: EU states ‘determined to protect’ steel sector against US tariffs

Participants will share findings and solutions with other stakeholders in the steel industry “both companies and unions” and are expected to sign a joint declaration on protecting Europe’s steel industry, the ministry said.

The sector, which employs more than 300,000 workers in Europe, has already been buffeted by Chinese low-cost steel overproduction and high energy prices in Europe.

The European Union has already said the tariffs are unjustified and economically counterproductive.

In 2018, Trump slapped tariffs during his first presidency on steel and aluminum exports — forcing the EU to respond with its own higher duties.