WTO members concerned over U.S. steel tariffs

GENEVA, April 23 .  Several members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), including Russia, China and India, on Monday expressed their concerns or disappointment with the recent decision by the United States to impose tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum products, during a meeting of WTO Safeguards Committee.

Seven members, including Russia, India, Venezuela, Turkey, Norway, Switzerland, and Singapore, jointed China, which raised the matter, to express their respective concerns.

For its part, Washington insisted the tariffs were taken on grounds of national security and were not a safeguard action, thus there were no grounds for request from members for consultations with the U.S. on the matter, under the Safeguards Agreement.

Despite widespread dissent from business groups and trading partners around the world, U.S. President Donald Trump on March 8 signed proclamations to impose a 25-percent tariff on imported steel and a 10-percent tariff on aluminum. Enditem