Biden and Europe remove Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs, but it’s not free trade

The October 2021 agreement to lift barriers on steel and aluminum trade was widely hailed as helping both sides of the Atlantic turn the page after a long and bitter confrontation. The accord—announced by President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen—achieved a breakthrough and perhaps presaged further cooperation on economic and climate issues. But it also created myriad problems to be addressed down the road.

The agreement was more complex than Biden’s statement that “it immediately removes tariffs on the European Union” suggested. It called for zero US tariffs on European metal exports—but only at a volume set by historical patterns, through a new system of bilateral tariff rate quotas (TRQs). These quotas could turn into voluntary export restraints, ushering in a return to the “managed trade” era of the 1980s, when governments, not market forces, controlled much of international commerce.

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Πηγή: piie.com