Overview

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection in mid-August published classifications making the steel and aluminum content of more than 400 products subject to a 50% levy.
• The measure stacks a 50% charge on metal content with a 15% tariff on the rest of the product, raising effective duties well beyond the transatlantic framework.
• The German engineering association VDMA told Ursula von der Leyen that about 30% of EU machinery shipped to the U.S. now falls under the 50% metal-content duty.
• Agricultural equipment maker Bernard Krone said it paused U.S. exports and is diverting goods already en route to Mexico and Canada.
• Brussels has acknowledged the problem, with Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič saying he cannot predict a fix, and motorcycle makers warn the new charges erase much of the accord’s benefit.