WTO rules US steel, Al tariffs unwarranted

The World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled today that US Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum enacted in 2017 are in violation of member rules in response to dispute filings from China, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey.

The organization found in its investigation that the cited national security justification for the broad US tariffs did not hold up to scrutiny.

The panel reviewing the cases declared that the tariffs were not "taken in time of war or other emergency in international relations," as required by Article XXI(b)(iii) of 1994's General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

In a response, the office of US Trade Representative Adam Hodge rejected the decision and said the WTO did not have the authority to "second guess" member countries on security matters, restating that excess capacity in China and other markets remained a national security threat. Hodge's office said the tariffs, imposed by the Trump administration but carried on under President Joe Biden, will not come off.

The Washington DC-based American Iron and Steel Institute also criticized the decision and said the WTO "has once again gone beyond its mandate" in questioning national security-based measures.

By John Betz