WTO Decision on Section 232 Tariffs Won't Come Until July at Earliest

The panels tasked with deciding whether Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports truly meet the national security exemption at the World Trade Organization notified WTO ambassadors that those decisions will be released no sooner than “the second half of 2021” because of delays caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Multiple panels are considering the tariffs against various countries and the European Union. Although the panels were assigned the cases a year ago, with decisions to be made in six months or less, all the panels told Geneva officials Feb. 8 that their decisions will be released in July at the earliest.