Washington, D.C.,
31
October
2021
|
03:14 AM
Europe/Amsterdam

AEM Hails U.S. – EU Agreement On Steel And Aluminum Tariffs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) president Dennis Slater issued the following statement on the agreement between the United States and the European Union to ease tariffs on steel and aluminum and resolve their long-standing trade dispute.

“The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) welcomes the agreement between the United States and the European Union to ease tariffs on billions of dollars of steel and aluminum and take meaningful steps to resolve a trade dispute that has hung over the transatlantic relationship for years. President Biden deserves a lot of credit for getting back to the negotiating table with our European partners and reaching an agreement that, while not perfect, goes a long way in restoring free and fair trade across the Atlantic. The tariffs on steel and aluminum have increased the cost of production of U.S. agriculture and construction equipment, cost our industry thousands of jobs, and hurt the U.S. economy. This new agreement will help address steel shortages and soaring prices that have hurt equipment manufacturers, while also addressing overcapacity from China and preventing leakage of Chinese steel into the U.S. market. We hope that both sides will build on the momentum from today’s agreement to remove the remaining obstacles to free and fair trade.”

Equipment manufacturers rely on mutually beneficial trade relationships with our partners. Thirty percent of equipment made in the United States is destined for export. A strong U.S.-EU trade and investment relationship helps support many of the 2.8 million family-sustaining equipment manufacturing jobs and is essential to our country’s long-term economic growth and prosperity.

Boilerplate

AEM is the North American-based international trade group representing off-road equipment manufacturers and suppliers, with more than 1,000 companies and more than 200 product lines in the agriculture and construction-related industry sectors worldwide. The equipment manufacturing industry supports 2.8 million jobs in the U.S. Equipment manufacturers also contribute $288 billion a year to the U.S. economy.