Peter Navarro Rules Out Steel, Aluminum Tariff Exemptions For EU And Other Allies

United States Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing Peter Navarro said Thursday that Washington will maintain tariffs on steel and aluminum with no exemptions for the European Union.

“There will be no exemptions, no exclusions for steel and aluminum tariffs,” Navarro told reporters. He noted that the U.S. added more than 400 new products to the tariff list this week to curb manipulation and circumvention. “Every time we try to give an exemption or exclusion to one of our allies, they abuse it totally. We learned that it was a slippery slope,” Navarro said, recalling Trump’s previous term in office.

Navarro also praised the administration’s 15% tariff on cars, describing it as a cornerstone of Trump’s trade strategy with Europe. “Anybody who criticizes Trump’s policy has to look at the president’s magnificent achievement in dealing with the EU,” he said.

His comments come after the U.S. and EU issued a joint statement earlier on Thursday, formalizing the trade deal announced back in July. The statement also included the possibility of lowering the 15% tariffs on cars, but only if Europe takes steps to lower tariffs on imported U.S. goods as promised.

“In many ways I can’t think of a deal more important than the one with the EU. It is, after all, one of the largest entities in the world. It’s important not just economically but strategically, yet for many, many years it has been taking unfair advantage of the U.S.—consistently higher tariffs, consistently higher non-tariff barriers,” Navarro added.

U.S. markets were trending lower ahead of Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole on Friday. The VanEck Steel ETF (SLX) fell 0.5% in afternoon trade, and the iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF (IYM) edged 0.1% lower. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around SLX and IYM trended in ‘neutral’ territory.

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