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Lutnick Says EU Must Change Digital Rules for Steel Tariff Deal

(Bloomberg) -- US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the European Union needs to change its digital regulations in order to get a deal to lower steel and aluminum tariffs.

“We are talking to them about” rolling back EU tech rules, Lutnick said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “In exchange for that, we will come up with a cool steel and aluminum deal.”

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Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were in Brussels on Monday for their first official visit since reaching a trade deal with the EU in July.

The deal set a 15% US tariff on many EU goods, while the EU pledged to erase tariffs on US industrial products as well as some agriculture and food items. The two sides also vowed to keep working to lower other tariffs, including a 50% levy on EU steel and aluminum, which the bloc has now matched with its own 50% tariff on steel imports above a certain quota.

Lutnick made clear any deal on steel or aluminum is contingent on the EU rolling back some of its regulations on major American tech companies. Lutnick and Greer met with EU technology czar Henna Virkkunen on Monday to discuss the issue before having lunch with EU trade ministers.

“The idea is if they take the foot off this regulatory framework and make it more inviting for our companies, they can get the benefit of hundreds of billions, possibly one trillion of investment,” Lutnick said.

--With assistance from Iain Rogers.