The United States’ unpredictable expansion of its steel tariff list is a global problem, not one limited to the EU, a senior European business leader has warned. Luisa Santos of BusinessEurope stated that the US is applying its “strange interpretation” of trade rules to everyone, creating widespread instability in the international trading system.
Her comment, “It is not just with us; it is with everyone,” frames the issue as a systemic challenge to the norms of global trade rather than a bilateral US-EU dispute. The core problem is the US’s use of a “rolling list” of “derivative” products, which can be expanded ad hoc to include new items.
This approach injects a toxic level of uncertainty into global supply chains. A manufacturer in any country that uses steel in its products must now live with the fear that their goods could be next on the US tariff list. This includes items as diverse as motorbikes, cranes, furniture, and window frames.
The compliance nightmare described by European sources is likely being replicated in other countries. The need to provide a perfect paper trail for metal content, under threat of a 200% penalty, is a challenge for any modern manufacturer, regardless of their nationality.
By highlighting the global nature of the problem, Santos’s comments serve as a potential rallying cry for a broader coalition of countries to push back against the US policy. It suggests that the EU sees an opportunity to find common cause with other trading partners who are also being harmed by the uncertainty.