WTO Confirms EU, Canada Filed Requests for Consultations Over US Import Tariffs

18:42 GMT, 6 June 2018

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) - The World Trade Organization (WTO) confirmed on Wednesday that the European Union and Canada had submitted separate requests for consultations with the United States to resolve the dispute around new tariffs on steel and aluminum products imports introduced by Washington.

Sputnik

"The European Union and Canada have requested WTO dispute consultations with the United States regarding US duties on certain imported steel and aluminum products. The requests were circulated to WTO members on 6 June," the WTO said in a statement.

Brussels and Ottawa claimed that US tariffs were inconsistent with WTO General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 and the Agreement on Safeguards, the statement added.

The request for such consultations initiates a WTO procedure for dispute settlement.

On Friday, a source in the WTO told Sputnik that the organization's secretariat received a request from the European Union for consultations with the United States on the issue of new duties on the import of steel and aluminum products.

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Those statement address a new 25-percent tariff on steel imports and a 10-percent tariff on aluminum imports, which, as Washington announced on Thursday, would be imposed on metals from the European Union, Canada, and Mexico, effective June 1. The move came after months of talks on possible limits. Mexico and Canada responded to the US move with counter-measures. In particular, Ottawa announced it would target US steel, aluminum, and other products totaling 16.6 billion Canadian dollars ($12.8 billion). The tariffs will take effect on July 1.