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European steel exports to the United States have fallen 34% to 1.94 million metric tons since the Trump administration doubled tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from 25% to 50%, industry association Eurofer reported on Thursday.
EU producers shipped 3.4 million tons of steel to the U.S. in 2025, down from 4.1 million tons in 2024 and 4.7 million tons in 2017, according to the association's data.
Eurofer urged Brussels and Washington to fully implement the trade agreement reached last July at U.S. President Donald Trump's Turnberry resort in Scotland. The framework calls for the EU to remove duties on most U.S. imports in exchange for a 15% U.S. tariff on most EU goods, while leaving steel and aluminum subject to separate negotiations.
The industry group called for talks on tariff-free quotas for steel and aluminum and joint efforts to address global overcapacity, a persistent concern for producers on both sides of the Atlantic.
At the same time, Eurofer warned that U.S. duties on steel-intensive products continue to weigh on European exporters. Although Washington has lowered tariffs on some derivative products to 15% for EU suppliers, rates on items such as refrigerators, lawn mowers and rail parts remain at 25%.
The EU could suspend some concessions under the trade deal if those tariffs are not reduced to 15% by the end of the year, the association said.
Steel and aluminum remain among the few major issues left unresolved by the trade agreement reached between the EU and the U.S. last year. Although Washington agreed to continue negotiations on a separate arrangement for the metals, it has so far kept its 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports in place.
Following the agreement, European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said the two sides were working toward a "metals alliance" aimed at addressing global overcapacity and shielding their markets from subsidized imports.
He indicated that discussions included replacing the 50% tariffs with a tariff-rate quota system that would allow a certain volume of EU steel and aluminum exports to enter the U.S. market at low or zero duty.
However, key details of any quota system remain unresolved.
Eurofer has criticized the lack of clarity over how future quotas would be calculated and whether traditional European export volumes would regain tariff-free access to the U.S. market. The association has warned that uncertainty surrounding the talks continues to weigh on investment and trade planning across the sector.
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