European Union

Supplement

The following communication, dated and received on 15 April 2025, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of the European Union.

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Pursuant to Article 12.5 of the Agreement on Safeguards and in accordance with the agreed format for notifications (_G/SG/1 1 July 1996; amended 19 October 2009 _G/SG/1/Rev.1 - _G/SG/N/6/Rev.1 - _G/SG/89), the European Union provides the immediate notification to the Council for Trade in Goods of the proposed suspension of concessions and other obligations referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 8.

1. Which Member is proposing suspension of concessions and other obligations referred to in Article 8.2?

The European Union.

2. Specify the measure, the product subject to the measure, the WTO document that notified the safeguard measure and the Member imposing the measure in relation to which the Member is proposing a suspension of concessions and other obligations referred to in Article 8.2 of the Agreement on Safeguards.

On 12 March 2025, the United States of America ("United States") introduced an additional customs duty on imports of certain aluminium and steel products and aluminium and steel derivative products, at a rate of 25% ad valorem.[1] The measures apply with respect to the European Union from 12 March 2025, for an unlimited period.

Notwithstanding the United States' characterisation of these measures as security measures, they objectively are safeguard measures.

The United States failed to notify the Committee on Safeguards under Article 12.1(c) of the Agreement on Safeguards on taking a decision to apply safeguard measures.

The European Union has established rebalancing rights corresponding to previous safeguard measures by the United States which safeguard measures concern a different scope of steel and aluminium products and steel and aluminium derivative products (_G/L/1237 _G/SG/N/12/EU/1 of 18 May 2018, and _G/L/1356 _G/SG/N/12/EU/2 of 7 April 2020).

3. Describe the proposed suspension of concessions and other obligations referred to in Article 8.2 of the Agreement on Safeguards and the proposed date from which it will come into effect.

The European Union provides this written notice in order to achieve the highest degree of legal certainty that in all the circumstances its rights to suspend the application of substantially equivalent obligations pursuant to Article 8 of the Agreement on Safeguards are fully protected. The European Union reserves the right to withdraw, modify, supplement or replace this notification and/or make a further notification or notifications, should it deem that appropriate, including in light of any subsequent developments.

The proposed suspension of substantially equivalent obligations under GATT 1994 to the trade of the United States concerns the obligations under Articles I:1 and II:1 of the GATT 1994 and takes the form of an additional ad valorem import duty of 25% on selected products originating in the United States, as specified in Annexes I and II. The substantially equivalent obligations under GATT 1994 were calculated as indicated in Annex III.

Without prejudice to the effective exercise of its right to suspend substantially equivalent obligations referred to in Article 8.2, the European Union hereby reserves its right to apply the proposed suspension from 16 May 2025, accounting for the expiration of 30 days after this notification is received by the Council for Trade in Goods.