President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on 10 February ending Ukraine’s steel tariff exemption ahead of its planned mid-2025 expiration, along with similar arrangements for other key US trading partners.
The White House document states that rather than supporting Ukraine’s steel industry and alleviating economic harm from the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, the benefits of the temporary exemption allegedly went primarily to unnamed EU member countries.
The document claims these European producers significantly increased duty-free exports to the US market of steel articles processed from Ukrainian semi-finished steel.
According to the proclamation, while imports from Ukraine remained steady at 0.5% of total US imports since 2021, imports from the European Union increased from 11.2% to 14.8%.
The new measures will take effect on 12 March 2025, when all steel imports from Ukraine will become subject to the 25% tariff.
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