Washington, D.C. - European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said Friday that he and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick agreed to step up discussions on steel derivatives during Sefcovic's visit to Washington.
Sefcovic told reporters that talks with U.S. officials were progressing positively and that both sides identified the same key challenge: a very large degree of overcapacity in the global steel market. He said steel dominated his conversations with U.S. counterparts.
During the meetings, Sefcovic said he put forward the idea of returning to an approach that would ringfence their respective steel sectors and arrange trade between them on particularly favorable terms. He described this as a proposal he suggested to Secretary Lutnick as a route forward.
Separately, Sefcovic also held talks with Secretary Bessent focused on cooperation around energy security. In that discussion, the two officials addressed disruptions in fertilizer supplies and characterized the situation in Africa as alarming.
On the topic of critical minerals, Sefcovic said he proposed exploring several pilot projects to improve coordination between the parties. He indicated he expected to put forward a couple of pilot projects on critical minerals very quickly.
Context and implications
The meetings covered a cluster of trade and security issues: accelerated negotiations on steel derivatives and the possibility of preferential trading arrangements for EU and U.S. steel sectors; energy security cooperation and concerns over fertilizer supply disruptions; and planned pilot projects to coordinate on critical minerals.
Sefcovic characterized the tone of the talks as moving in a positive direction, without providing further detail on timelines or the specific form any ringfencing or pilot projects would take.
Summary of statements
- Sefcovic said he and Secretary Lutnick agreed to speed up discussions on steel derivatives.
- He noted the U.S. and EU face the same problem of substantial overcapacity in the global steel market.
- He raised the idea of ringfencing their steel sectors and arranging especially favorable trade between them.
- He also met with Secretary Bessent to discuss energy security, fertilizer supply disruptions and the alarming situation in Africa.
- On critical minerals, he said he suggested several pilot projects and expected to propose a couple of them quickly.