EU wants temporary exemptions to US tariffs to be permanent

BRUSSELS – 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.