EU presses US to drop tariffs on metals content

By Philip Blenkinsop

HORSENS, Denmark (Reuters) -The European Commission is pressing the United States to remove tariffs on products made from steel as Brussels seeks to advance parts of the EU-U.S. tariff deal that have yet to enter force, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said on Tuesday.

Under their joint agreement, the two transatlantic partners are to consider ring-fencing their steel, aluminium and derivative products made from the metals from overcapacity, with 50% U.S. tariffs possibly replaced by tariff-free or low-tariff quotas.

The Commission, which oversees trade policy on behalf of the 27-nation EU, believes it has fulfilled its side of the bargain with its proposal to hike its tariffs for steel to 50%, halve current quotas and be clearer on where steel originates.

The proposal, which still needs approval from EU governments and the European Parliament, had "very similar" contours to the approach the U.S. wanted to protect its domestic steel industry from overcapacity, Sefcovic said.

"Once we are protecting our markets in a very similar way, it's time to discuss the steel derivatives, because I think that we should stop the practice where we have to calculate how much steel is in the fridge or dishwasher," he told a news conference at the end of an EU trade ministers meeting in Denmark.

He added he had proposed this in a letter to his U.S. counterparts.

U.S. tariffs are not just limited to steel and aluminium themselves, but extend to a range of 'derivative' products made from the metals.

In August, the U.S. added 407 product categories to its list of derivative products, with a 50% tariff on the steel and aluminium content, plus the universal rate on the non-metal content - for the EU, at 15%.

The product categories include wind turbines, bulldozers, railcars, motorcycles, automotive exhaust systems, refrigerators, freezers and dryers.

(Reporting by Philip BlenkinsopEditing by Mark Potter)