The European Commission says it has not received any official notification from the US regarding the imposition of tariffs but would react to protect the interests of the EU market from measures it sees as “unjustified”.

US President Donald Trump was quoted as telling reporters on Sunday aboard Air Force One that he will announce new 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports into the US on Monday, on top of existing metals duties.

Trump slapped Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminium in 2018 but later granted several trading partners exemptions, while his successor, Joe Biden, agreed duty-free quotas with the EU and Japan, Kallanish notes.

“The imposition of tariffs would be unlawful and economically counterproductive, especially given the deeply integrated production chains the EU and US established through Transatlantic trade and investment,” the European Commission notes.

The EU exported 3.413 million tonnes of HS chapter 72 iron and steel products to the US in January-November 2024, exceeding the full-year 2023 total of 3.399mt, according to Eurostat. Except for the Covid and Covid rebound years of 2020 and 2021, annual shipments since 2019 have hovered at around 3.4mt and saw no significant impact from the duty free quota agreement, effective 1 January 2022.

The Netherlands and Germany are the most exposed to any potential US tariffs, having shipped 731,217t and 676,459t respectively of the 11-month 2024 tonnage to the US. Romania followed with 349,486t.

In terms of major products, the EU shipped 697,978t of coated flat steel, 568,121t of other alloy flat steel and 226,513t of sections, as well as 279,648t of HS code 7207 semi-finished products in the 11 months.

Most EU steelmakers’ shares dipped on Monday morning following the reports of Trump’s tariff plan, but SSAB’s rose. The Swedish steelmaker has a significant production capacity in the US, which is likely to benefit from any tariffs. In 2018, the firm nevertheless pointed out its US steel production is supplemented with special, high-strength products from Sweden and Finland that are not produced at its US facilities.

ArcelorMittal is meanwhile constructing an electric arc furnace at its US-based Calvert joint venture with Nippon Steel, which will limit the operation’s exposure to any tariffs levied on semi-finished steel imports.