Trade Cases
USTR Applauds WTO Report on Section 232 Tariffs
Written by Ethan Bernard
August 17, 2023
The office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) endorsed the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) panel report regarding the Section 232 duties against China on steel and aluminum. The report recognized the duties as “security measures,” rejecting China’s arguments against them.
“The United States is pleased with the WTO panel report released today, recognizing that the US Section 232 actions on steel and aluminum are security measures, and that the People’s Republic of China illegally retaliated with sham ‘safeguard tariffs,’” USTR spokesperson Sam Michel said in a press release on Wednesday.
Michel said that China’s decision to pursue this dispute “highlights its hypocrisy by both suing the United States in the WTO and at the same time unilaterally retaliating with tariffs.”
“The panel rightly rejected China’s argument that the US Section 232 actions are safeguard measures that may be ‘rebalanced’ under WTO rules,” Michel added.
Further, USTR believes China’s use of the WTO dispute settlement system to challenge the US Section 232 national security actions “has caused grave systemic damage to the WTO.”
“The WTO does not have the authority to second-guess a WTO member’s response to threats to its security, and WTO reform must ensure that issues of national security cannot be reviewed in WTO dispute settlement,” Michel’s statement said.
Ethan Bernard
Read more from Ethan BernardLatest in Trade Cases
Price on Trade: IEEPA tariffs head to the Supreme Court, DOJ ramps up trade enforcement
International trade law and policy remain a hot topic in Washington and beyond this week. We are paying special attention to the ongoing litigation of the president’s tariff policies and the administration’s efforts to heighten trade enforcement.
Mexico considers stiff tariffs for steel, autos, and other imports
Mexico is considering imposing steep tariffs on imports of steel, automobiles, and over 1,400 other products. Its target? Countries with which it does not have free trade agreements, mainly China, India, Thailand, and other South Asian nations.
Leibowitz: With ‘reciprocal’ tariffs struck down again in court, what happens next?
President Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Policy Act (IEEPA) were struck down again, this time on Aug. 29 by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC). The legal and policy mess continues, with the next stop being the US Supreme Court.
Market unfazed by US circuit court’s IEEPA decision
Repealing any reciprocal tariffs placed by President Donald Trump on US imports of direct reduced iron (DRI), iron ore, hot-briquetted iron (HBI), and pig iron would have only a nominal impact on the US steel market, market participants said.
ITC votes to keep HR duties after sunset review
The US government determined this week that hot-rolled steel imports from a handful of countries continue to threaten the domestic steel industry.