Have the article read by OpenAI (Beta). Please note that AI translations may take some time to process.Brussels (dpa) – US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick has promised lower tariffs on steel and aluminium if the European Union revises its digital rules, after meeting with the bloc’s trade ministers in Brussels. “If [ministers] can come up with that balanced approach, which I think they can, then we will together with them, handle the steel and [aluminium] issues,” Lutnick said after the meeting. The EU has been trying to find a way to lower the 50 percent import tariffs that Washington imposes on steel and aluminium imports from the bloc. These tariffs also burden German industry.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the EU’s digital rules in view of several proceedings brought by the European Commission against US corporations including Google, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft. The Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA) are particularly contested. “The United States has had significant concerns for many years about the Digital Markets Act and similar legislation in the EU,” said US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer who also took part in the talks. Many times US companies are almost exclusively affected, enforcement is “quite aggressive at times” and fines can be high, he said.
German minister echoes US concerns on EU tech rules
German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche called for fewer digital rules and greater use of artificial intelligence (AI) in Germany, on the sidelines of the meeting. “Germany has made it clear that we want opportunities to play a role in the digital world and implement AI in our industrial processes,” Reiche said after meeting Lutnick and Greer.
Not only Washington is critical of European digital legislation but Berlin too, said the German minister. “Without the implementation of AI models, there will be no bright future,” she said, which is why the German government is also in Brussels to advocate for the easing of restrictive regulations. Reiche also cited the DSA and DMA as examples.
Progress on implementation of EU-US tariffs deal
Monday’s meeting was the first time that EU trade ministers met their US counterparts after Brussels and Washington agreed last summer that a base tariff of 15 percent would apply to most EU imports into the US. Washington had previously threatened to impose much higher tariffs.
In return the EU made several concessions including the promise to purchase 750 billion Dollar worth of US energy by the end of Trump’s term and other major investments. EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič stressed progress made by the bloc to implement the agreement. He said that the EU has purchased energy from the US worth 200 billion Dollar. The US share of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports to the EU has risen from 45 to 60 percent. EU investments in the US had reached over 150 billion Dollar since January. (24 november)
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