The Trump administration is quietly working to trim back its sweeping tariffs on steel and aluminum, as officials wrestle with rules that companies say are nearly impossible to calculate and that the European Union wants scaled down as part of a long-awaited U.S. trade deal.
Behind the scenes, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is trying to untangle complications left by last year’s rapid rollout of President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda, according to a person familiar with the matter. The White House has signaled to companies that changes are coming, but the scope and timing remain unclear.
Markets reacted quickly when the Financial Times reported that rollback plans were under discussion: aluminum and other metals fell, and shares of U.S. steelmakers and aluminum producers slid. Yet a White House official, speaking anonymously, pushed back hard, calling reports of tariff changes “baseless speculation unless announced by the administration” and insisting Trump “will never compromise on reinvigorating domestic manufacturing of steel, aluminum, and other key products.”
The tariff rethink comes at a delicate political moment. Trump is facing low approval ratings on the economy and growing public anxiety about the cost of living, a combination that could complicate Republican prospects in November’s midterm elections.
Trump imposed a 50% levy on foreign steel and aluminum last year to combat what the administration described as Chinese overcapacity. The move swept up not only China but also major trading partners, including Canada, the EU, Mexico, and South Korea. The policy later expanded to cover derivative products containing the metals, creating a compliance maze for companies forced to calculate the steel or aluminum content in imported goods.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has acknowledged the headaches. Two months ago, he said “there’s some complexity” with the derivatives tariffs and noted he had heard from “a lot of folks.” He said he had discussed the issue with Customs and Border Protection and was “very open” to feedback. At an Atlantic Council forum on Dec. 10, Greer added that officials are “committed to making it as smooth as possible,” but cautioned that “when you are moving trade policy that’s been more or less the same for 70 years to a new outcome … there are going to be challenges in making it operational.”
The tariffs are also drawing fire in Washington. The House this week voted to roll back duties on Canadian products, while analyses from the Congressional Budget Office and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York concluded that American consumers and businesses are shouldering most of the costs, contradicting Trump’s repeated claims that foreign exporters pay. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule as soon as next week on the legality of Trump’s global tariffs.
For U.S.-EU relations, any scaling back of the derivative tariffs could ease tensions and help advance a trade accord that remains only partially implemented despite being negotiated last year. The EU still faces a 50% U.S. duty on steel and aluminum exports and many derivative goods, and Washington updates the list of affected items several times a year.
European officials worry that the sheer breadth of products caught by the 50% metals tariff, hundreds of items, combined with the threat of new levies on other industries, could erode the trade deal and its agreed 15% tariff ceiling, leaving negotiators to navigate a widening gap between policy and promise.
