Germany offers aluminium plan

The German presidency of the European Union has proposed a compromise for solving a long-running row within the bloc over how to cut import tariffs on wrought aluminium, diplomats said.

Germany has said the EU's tariffs should fall to 3 per cent from the current six per cent, the diplomats said.

But the proposal does not foresee the cut being introduced with retroactive effect, they said.

The EU's executive Commission previously proposed that the halving of the duties be made retroactive to Jan. 1, 2007 before an elimination of the fees from 2009. 

But the Commission's proposal ran into opposition from several countries last month.

Germany is now proposing that rather than eliminating the duties from 2009, the EU carry out a review in three years' time on how to proceed with any further changes and it would not necessarily lead to further cuts, the diplomats said.

'There is not yet complete agreement (among EU countries),' an envoy said. 'One country needs more time for checks but generally speaking this appears to be the way to go.' 

Proposals to change the tariffs need backing from EU governments.

Some of the diplomats said they were still waiting for a formal proposal from the German presidency, which floated its ideas at a meeting of trade experts last Friday.

Lower tariffs have been sought by new EU members such as Poland and the Czech Republic, where firms that consume wrought aluminium have had to pay more for raw material from countries such as Russia and Ukraine than before they joined the bloc.

But several older EU members, including Germany, have been worried about the effect of cutting the import duties on their own smelting companies.