The United States has sharply raised import tariffs on steel, from 25 percent to 50 percent, and on aluminum, from 10 percent to 50 percent. The move aims to boost domestic U.S. production, but many exporters in Europe are questioning the actual outcome.
"The overall U.S. capacity is not big enough to fulfil the American demand for all the goods produced in the United States," says Marius Baader, Managing Director of Aluminium Deutschland, which represents Germany's aluminum industry.
"Companies (in the U.S.) don't have the chance to substitute the imports that quickly because the aluminum industry needs a lot of lead time to be able to perform on a certain level of quality. Aluminum cans, for example, are a high-tech product because the alloy used is well defined. At the end of the day, the consumer needs to pay the tariffs."
For the moment, Germany's steel and aluminum industries are bracing for a period of uncertainty as the new tariffs take effect.
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Germany's steel and aluminum industries braced for U.S. tariffs
cgtn.com
