WASHINGTON – Today, Ambassador Jamieson Greer issued the following statement regarding the European Union’s announced retaliatory tariffs on the United States.

"For years, the European Union has opposed the United States’ efforts to reindustrialize. The EU has rejected attempts under successive U.S. administrations to cooperate effectively on dealing with global excess capacity on steel, aluminum, and other sectors, employing measures that are too little and too late.

If the EU acted as quickly to address global excess capacity as it does to punish the United States, we likely would be in a different situation today. The EU’s punitive action completely disregards the national security imperatives of the United States – and indeed international security – and is yet another indicator that the EU’s trade and economic policies are out of step with reality."