“We ask the Commission to present a proposal as soon as possible for a new commercial protection framework against the steel surcharge, operational from January 1, 2026”.
This is what 11 member countries underline-including Italy-in a non-paid compiled on the initiative of France. The new steering industry protection framework-reads the document-“should target the share of imports to the same levels of 2012-2013”, that is, for each product segment: 15% for flat steel, 5% for long steel and 15% for stainless steel compared to the EU demand.
Towards a joint EU-US
«On Sunday the two presidents reached an agreement, a political understanding. What we are doing now is to take that political agreement, to define the details, make sure that everything we need is present there, to get to a joint declaration. I can’t tell you precisely when that joint declaration will be ready, but it should be soon ».
This was stated by the spokesman for the European Commerce Commission, Olof Gill, in briefing with the press.
«The joint declaration itself is not a legally binding document, but rather a roadmap. It is a political commitment, a series of political commitments, if you prefer. And from this, we can generate stability, predictability, so that we can return to do what we know better in terms of trade and transatlantic investments.
Our companies are profoundly integrated supply chains, which transport products and services through the Atlantic daily, for a value of 1,600 billion euros per year, and from there we will examine further areas where we can reduce the duties and other areas of cooperation. But we consider the joint declaration a platform, a base from which we can allow transatlantic trade to continue growing and developed, “he added.
The political agreement of 27 July: content and implications
«The political agreement of 27 July 2025 is not legally binding. In addition to taking the immediate actions committed, the EU and the US will focus further, in line with the respective internal procedures, to fully implement the political agreement “.
This is what we read in the note of the Commission on the agreement on the duties signed on Sunday. The agreement responds to the fundamental economic interests of the EU, or stable and predictable relations with the USA.
At the same time, he fully respects EU’s regulatory sovereignty and protects the sensitive sectors of European agriculture, such as cow in cowelle or poultry.
Divergences between the EU and the US on the information sheet
The European Union has published an information note on the pact on the duties signed on Sunday in Scotland. In the text the points and percentages already emerged in Brussels in the morning are confirmed. Instead, differences remain compared to the information sheet released last night by the White House.
Among the non -concordant points between the two texts include duties on chips and drugs, which according to the community executive are not taxed at the moment. Furthermore, in the EU note, no Brussels commitment appears on the digital tax.