According to informed EU officials, US President Trump is considering taking measures to reduce the EU's export of steel and aluminum products to the United States by about 10%, indicating that the EU’s concessions to obtain a tariff exemption have not reached the requirements of the White House.

If the United States does not give the EU an unlimited exemption, the EU has already prepared countermeasures, including levying tariffs on US imports worth 2.8 billion euros; the European Union also wants to join China’s WTO complaint against the US trade initiative.