EU wants temporary exemptions to US tariffs to be permanent

Geert Vanden Wijngaert

EU wants temporary exemptions to US tariffs to be permanent

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, right, speaks with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, second left, and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, center, during a breakfast meeting at an EU summit in Brussels on Friday, March 23, 2018. Leaders from the 28 European Union nations meet for a second day of an EU summit to assess the state of Brexit negotiations and the prospect of a trade war with the United States. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, Pool)

Geert Vanden Wijngaert

EU wants temporary exemptions to US tariffs to be permanent

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, seated, speaks with Secretary-General of the European Commission Martin Selmayr, right, as he shakes hands with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel during a breakfast meeting at an EU summit in Brussels on Friday, March 23, 2018. Leaders from the 28 European Union nations meet for a second day of an EU summit to assess the state of Brexit negotiations and the prospect of a trade war with the United States. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, Pool)

Posted: Friday, March 23, 2018 5:03 am | Updated: 5:31 am, Fri Mar 23, 2018.

EU wants temporary exemptions to US tariffs to be permanent Associated Press |

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union leaders say that they want the temporary exemption to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum the tariffs to be made permanent.

The leaders said that the tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump could still impose "cannot be justified on the grounds of national security" and therefore should be scrapped for good.

Despite the temporary exemption, the EU leaders said at Friday's summit that they reserve the right "to respond to the U.S. measures as appropriate and in a proportionate manner."

The EU leaders have also said they want close cooperation with Washington to deal with trade issues from now on.