Cross Border Trade Updates
March 17, 2025
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- U.S. Tariffs on Imports of Steel and Aluminum
- Canada Retaliatory Tariff Action
- On 12 March, Canada announced the imposition of 25% retaliatory tariffs on $21 B of imports from the United States in response to U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs, despite the Trump administration’s reversed decision to implement additional tariffs on steel and aluminum.
- Effective 13 March, the scope of this tariff action includes steel and aluminum products, computers, sports equipment and cast-iron products. PMMI machinery tariff lines are not targeted, however, materials and inputs for machinery are included (e.g., steel under Chapter 72).
- EU Retaliatory Trade Action
- On 11 March, the EU announced a “two-step” response to recent U.S. trade actions. On 1 April, retaliatory tariffs to the U.S. tariff on steel and aluminum imports will be implemented.
- The first tranche of the EU’s retaliatory tariffs ranges from 10%-50%. The additional retaliatory tariffs do not target PMMI machinery tariff lines. The retaliatory list does include steel materials and inputs under Chapter 72 sources from the United States.
- The Second tranche of retaliatory tariffs is still in development, but the preliminary list of products under consideration does not target PMMI machinery tariff lines. However, the scope is quite broad and materials and inputs (such as iron and steel under Chapter 73) could be impacted.
- On 12 March, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer issued a statement regarding the EU’s announcement of retaliatory tariffs on the United States saying that “the EU’s punitive action completely disregards the national security imperatives of the United States – and indeed international security – and is yet another indicator that the EU’s trade and economic policies are out of step with reality.”
- Actions at the World Trade Organization (WTO)
