Panels on Steel and Aluminum Tariffs, China Abuses to Assemble at WTO

The World Trade Organization's Dispute Settlement Body is establishing panels to review seven countries' complaints about Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, as well as panels on Chinese, Canadian, Mexican and European retaliatory tariffs in response to those tariffs. The countries that requested a WTO verdict about the U.S. action include China, Canada, Mexico, Norway, Russia, Turkey and the European Union. All said that the tariffs, claimed as necessary to protect national security, are really safeguards, but the U.S. did not follow safeguard rules. The retaliatory tariffs, aimed to mirror the cost of the tariffs, are illegal, the U.S. argues. Countries hit by safeguard tariffs can raise tariffs in response, but only after a WTO panel says they can.

A Geneva trade official said the panels were established at a Nov. 21 meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body. India and Switzerland will also be seeking panels on the metals tariffs, but they are not as far along in the process. The body also will be establishing a panel to judge whether China is violating WTO rules on intellectual property rights, which was sought by the U.S.