May 7, 2024
(press release)
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Speaking to the trade press during AISTech 2024, Steel Manufacturers Association president Philip K. Bell said the pause in negotiations over the Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminum could buy some needed time. Break in GASSA Negotiations Won’t Hurt, But it Might Not Help, Trade Groups Say
5/7/2024 - A timeout on negotiations over the proposed U.S.-EU carbon club for steel and aluminum ultimately could help bring an agreement into being, although it remains to be seen whether one comes about, according to the leaders of the two major U.S. steel trade associations.
“The issues that the Global Arrangement is trying to address are very complicated. They’re not easy to solve, so it’s going to take time. I think this hiatus is actually a good thing because it’s going to enable both the EU and the United States to go back to the drawing board and reaffirm what the focus of this agreement should be,” Bell said.
Negotiators had hoped to reach an agreement on the bilateral Global Arrangement at the beginning of this year. However, talks over the agreement, which is intended to discourage imports of carbon-intensive steel and aluminum, broke down, and negotiators pushed a deadline back to 2025.
Bell said the new deadline will allow time for the International Trade Commission to assess the carbon intensity of steel and aluminum, as part of an investigation called for by U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
Bell said the assessment will provide data on 54 product categories and offer a factual basis for further negotiations.
However, Kevin Dempsey, president and chief executive officer of the American Iron and Steel Institute, said it remains to be seen whether a deal will come together.
“My hope is that there will be progress after this pause next year. It’s not at all certain that this will be the case,” he said. “Whether we can get there with the EU, I don’t know. We’ll have to see,” he said.
But, he said, even if the U.S. and the EU fail to come to terms, there are other ways to achieve the same objective. And one, he said, might be for the U.S. and its North American partners to negotiate a tariff based on differential carbon intensities.
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