China Questions Legality of Section 232 Tariffs at WTO

China says that the U.S. decision to levy 25 percent tariffs on imported steel from some parts of the world, and 10 percent tariffs on aluminum, was not fair and impartial, and also violated World Trade Organization agreements by not treating all nations in the WTO equally with regard to the tariffs. Under WTO rules, countries are not allowed to raise tariffs above bound rates on some countries but not others in most circumstances. The U.S. used the Section 232 national security exemption from that rule, but China dismisses that assertion, and says that these tariffs are safeguards in disguise. Earlier, China asked for consultations on compensation for the safeguard tariffs (see 1803260025), and this latest request for consultations, posted April 10, tackles the legality of the action. China says the U.S. ignored the rules on how to implement safeguard tariffs. Those rules say that a country has to prove a surge in imports is harming or will harm domestic producers. The U.S. has already responded to China's earlier request for consultations by saying that these are not safeguard tariffs.