Trump Administration Plans to Impose Tariffs on EU Steel and Aluminum: Sources

The White House is not considering the continuation of the European Union exemptions from steel and aluminum tariffs, CNBC has confirmed.  The Trump administration is expected to announce this Thursday, according to some sources close to the situation.

Shares of the U.S. Steel gained about 5 percent in after-hours trade. Alcoa shares increased 2 percent post-market, while AK Steel gained 5 percent.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump’s administration had introduced new tariffs of 25 percent for steel and 10 percent of aluminum. But the European Union and other allies were given temporary exemptions and further discussions on this issue were allowed.

On Wednesday, top trade officials from the U.S. held a meeting with their EU counterparts in Paris as a temporary exemption from these tariffs was set to expire.

In recent days, trade negotiations between the U.S. and the EU showed some signs that they would come to an agreement. European officials have stated that they expected the U.S. to follow through with introducing tariffs.

While the European Parliament would like a result with no tariffs or quotas, European Commissioner for trade Cecilia Malmstrom said on Tuesday, “Realistically, however, we do not think we can hope for that.”

Late Wednesday, a European Commission spokesperson did not want to speculate on what the United States’ final decision will be.

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