In this file photo dated July 30, 2019, workers wait at the bus stop at the US Steel Kosice steel-mill in the early morning in Kosice, eastern Slovakia. (PHOTO / AFP)

BRUSSELS — The European Union (EU) on Tuesday extended the suspension of its rebalancing tariffs on products from the United States in the context of the steel and aluminium dispute until March 31, 2025.

Initially implemented during the Trump Presidency, the EU rebalancing tariffs were a response to the US Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminium.

The US and the EU have been at odds on steel and aluminium exports since 2018, when the US introduced tariffs on 6.4 billion euros worth of European steel and aluminium exports

The extension comes in response to the US extending its own suspension of its tariffs for historical trade volumes reflected in the Tariff-Rate Quota (TRQ) system.

READ MORE: US, EU end Trump-era tariff war over steel, aluminum

The extension should save EU steel and aluminium exporters approximately 1.5 billion euros ($1.64 billion) in tariffs annually.

"The extension provides us with the necessary space to continue pursuing the full and permanent removal of 232 tariffs on EU exports, as well as working on addressing global overcapacity and decarbonization of steel and aluminium industries," Valdis Dombrovskis, executive vice-president of the European Commission and European commissioner for trade, said.

The US and the EU have been at odds on steel and aluminium exports since 2018, when the US introduced tariffs on 6.4 billion euros worth of European steel and aluminium exports.

In retaliation, the EU introduced its rebalancing tariffs on US exports to the EU of a value of 2.8 billion euros.

READ MORE: Prospects dim for US-EU summit deals on trade

In 2022, the EU decided to suspend its rebalancing tariffs until Dec 31, 2023. The US replaced its Section 232 tariffs with a tariff-based system quota based on historical trade volume, with above-quota imports still subjected to tariffs.