US administration has condemned the World Trade Organization's verdict on the US tariffs imposed on national security grounds on steel imports from China and other countries. US Trade Representative Ms Katherine Tai spokesman Mr Adam Hodge said “The United States strongly rejects the flawed interpretation and conclusions in the WTO Panel reports released. The United States has held the clear and unequivocal position, for over 70 years, that issues of national security cannot be reviewed in WTO dispute settlement. WTO had no authority to second-guess a WTO member's ability to respond to security threats.”“The United States strongly rejects the flawed interpretation and conclusions in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Panel reports released today regarding challenges to the United States’ Section 232 measures on steel and aluminum brought by China and others. The United States has held the clear and unequivocal position, for over 70 years, that issues of national security cannot be reviewed in WTO dispute settlement and the WTO has no authority to second-guess the ability of a WTO Member to respond to a wide-range of threats to its security.He added “The Biden Administration is committed to preserving U.S. national security by ensuring the long-term viability of our steel and aluminum industries, and we do not intend to remove the Section 232 duties as a result of these disputes.”American Iron & Steel Institute President & CEO Mr Kevin Dempsey said “A WTO dispute panel has once again gone beyond its mandate. Each member of the WTO has the right to determine what action it considers necessary to protect its own national security and today’s panel ruling disregards this central feature of the WTO system. The tariffs and quotas on steel were instituted by the president following a determination by the Secretary of Commerce that high levels of steel imports and continuing global excess capacity in steel threatened to impair US national security as defined in section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The WTO has no authority to second guess the US government on matters of our national security. This decision highlights once again why significant and systemic reform of the WTO dispute settlement system is essential to ensure that all WTO members’ rights are fully protected.Mr Dempsey added “The Section 232 program on steel has worked to reduce the repeated surges in imports that threatened the health of the American steel industry. It also has incentivized new capital spending by US steelmakers, with investments of more than $22 billion in new, expanded or restarted production since March 2018. Unfortunately, the global steel overcapacity crisis continues to plague steelmakers worldwide, with excess capacity estimated to exceed 562 million metric tons in 2022, more than six times total steel production in the United States. And many countries continue to increase their steel capacity. For example, cross-border investments into Southeast Asia, including many incentivized through China’s Belt and Road Initiative, will add over 90 million metric tons of new, export-oriented steelmaking capacity in that region alone over the next few years. Given these facts, we believe the Section 232 measures on steel remain critically important for U.S. national security. AISI strongly urges the Biden administration to maintain the Section 232 program in steel and disregard this erroneous decision.”Since 23 March 2018, the US, allegedly for national security reasons, has imposed tariffs of 25% and 10% on steel and aluminium imports respectively on a global scale and only certain economies are excluded.
US administration has condemned the World Trade Organization's verdict on the US tariffs imposed on national security grounds on steel imports from China and other countries. US Trade Representative Ms Katherine Tai spokesman Mr Adam Hodge said “The United States strongly rejects the flawed interpretation and conclusions in the WTO Panel reports released. The United States has held the clear and unequivocal position, for over 70 years, that issues of national security cannot be reviewed in WTO dispute settlement. WTO had no authority to second-guess a WTO member's ability to respond to security threats.”“The United States strongly rejects the flawed interpretation and conclusions in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Panel reports released today regarding challenges to the United States’ Section 232 measures on steel and aluminum brought by China and others. The United States has held the clear and unequivocal position, for over 70 years, that issues of national security cannot be reviewed in WTO dispute settlement and the WTO has no authority to second-guess the ability of a WTO Member to respond to a wide-range of threats to its security.He added “The Biden Administration is committed to preserving U.S. national security by ensuring the long-term viability of our steel and aluminum industries, and we do not intend to remove the Section 232 duties as a result of these disputes.”American Iron & Steel Institute President & CEO Mr Kevin Dempsey said “A WTO dispute panel has once again gone beyond its mandate. Each member of the WTO has the right to determine what action it considers necessary to protect its own national security and today’s panel ruling disregards this central feature of the WTO system. The tariffs and quotas on steel were instituted by the president following a determination by the Secretary of Commerce that high levels of steel imports and continuing global excess capacity in steel threatened to impair US national security as defined in section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The WTO has no authority to second guess the US government on matters of our national security. This decision highlights once again why significant and systemic reform of the WTO dispute settlement system is essential to ensure that all WTO members’ rights are fully protected.Mr Dempsey added “The Section 232 program on steel has worked to reduce the repeated surges in imports that threatened the health of the American steel industry. It also has incentivized new capital spending by US steelmakers, with investments of more than $22 billion in new, expanded or restarted production since March 2018. Unfortunately, the global steel overcapacity crisis continues to plague steelmakers worldwide, with excess capacity estimated to exceed 562 million metric tons in 2022, more than six times total steel production in the United States. And many countries continue to increase their steel capacity. For example, cross-border investments into Southeast Asia, including many incentivized through China’s Belt and Road Initiative, will add over 90 million metric tons of new, export-oriented steelmaking capacity in that region alone over the next few years. Given these facts, we believe the Section 232 measures on steel remain critically important for U.S. national security. AISI strongly urges the Biden administration to maintain the Section 232 program in steel and disregard this erroneous decision.”Since 23 March 2018, the US, allegedly for national security reasons, has imposed tariffs of 25% and 10% on steel and aluminium imports respectively on a global scale and only certain economies are excluded.
