“The 3.2 million (metric tons) of steel we export to the U.S. are sold under free and fair market conditions. European steel producers are in no sense a threat to U.S. national security. Only a very small proportion of the products exported have any plausible defense or security application,” said Axel Eggert, the association’s director general. 

“Section 232 is the wrong tool for the U.S. to deploy to defend its steel from the dumping driven by global steel overcapacity, particularly if it harms the U.S.’ allies,” Eggert said.

The Section 232 investigation is a precursor to the potential imposition of new import restrictions and tariffs based on national security concerns. European Union officials have said the union will retaliate if the U.S. sets measures targeting European steel. 

“Moreover, trade diplomats fear U.S. security-based tariffs on steel would widen cracks in the global trading order, after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates cited national security at the WTO last week to justify their economic boycott of Qatar,” the Reuters news service reported in advance of the summit. 

Reuters has more on what’s at stake here.