An article of E15 published on March 12 on steel and aluminum tarrifs (in Czech language). Last Thursday, the Trump administration announced its plan to place tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. The tariffs are intended to raise the production in US steel and aluminum plants to 80%, which is considered the minimum output necessary for survival. If the tariffs take effect, the EU has declared it will place reciprocal tariffs on US products of similar export value. The issue underneath the tariff decision- global overcapacity- is real, but imposing global tariffs does not appear to help solve the problem. An internationally coordinated response using targeted tariffs or quotas might be the best way to keep the economic and geopolitical damage to the minimum.  

The US government is considering imposing tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum imports, and the European Union announced it is prepared to respond with tariffs on US imports with the same monetary value as EU exports of steel and aluminum. Other countries, including the largest steel and aluminum exporter to the US, Canada, have also declared their intention to reciprocate. China, the main target of the tariff, has not reacted explicitly.