WTO: Trump violated world trade rules
The three-person panel of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Settlement Mechanism announced the decision by Turkey, China, Norway and Switzerland to appeal Trump’s additional tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
The panel ruled that Trump’s additional tariffs on steel and aluminum imports violated global trade rules, noting that the US measures were inconsistent with WTO rules.
Rejecting that Trump cited “national security” concerns to justify the additional taxes, the panel reported that these taxes were not imposed “during war or any other emergency.”
The Washington administration, on the other hand, condemned the WTO decision. Stating that members of the organization do not have the authority to challenge national security decisions, the Washington administration signaled that Trump plans to keep the customs tariffs in place.
US: WTO CANNOT EXPERIMENT LATER
In a written statement, US Trade Representative Adam Hodge said the WTO decision shows the need for fundamental reforms in the organization’s dispute resolution mechanism, saying: “The United States will not leave the decision on its national security to WTO panels “The WTO has no power to speculate on a member state’s response to security threats,” he said.
The United States has the right to appeal the decision of the WTO. However, it is stated that the opposition will not produce any effect. The US administration has been blocking appointments to the WTO Appellate Body for 3 years, further prolonging the dispute resolution process.
DECISION ON ADDITIONAL TAXES ON US STEEL IMPORTS
In March 2018, US President Donald Trump decided to impose a 25 percent tariff on imported steel to protect national security.
Regarding the said request, Turkey forwarded its request to the United States for the necessary consultations, but could not obtain positive results. Turkey, claiming that the decision in question was against WTO rules, complained about the US at the WTO. In addition to Turkey, China, Norway, India, Russia and Switzerland also took the decision to the WTO. The WTO has not yet made its decision regarding the objections of India and Russia.
‘OUR RELATIONS WITH TURKEY ARE NOT GOOD IN THIS PERIOD’
Announcing that he doubled the customs duties for steel and aluminum imported from Turkey on August 10, 2018, Trump said: “This rate will now be 20 percent for aluminum and 50 percent for steel. Our relations with Turkey are not good during this period,” he said.
After the US doubled its customs duty on steel products originating in Turkey effective August 13, 2018, Turkey also increased additional financial responsibility rates applied to imports of some US-origin products at the same rate. .
On May 21, 2019, the US lowered the additional tariffs on imported steel products from Turkey from 50% to 25%. Last year, the US administration reached new agreements with the EU, Japan and the UK on the removal of these additional taxes. (AA)