Turkey lodges WTO complaint against additional U.S. metal tariffs
Turkey filed a complaint against steep US duties on imported metals at the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Monday, launching a process that starts with negotiations and could lead to a verdict by the Geneva-based body. In its letter to the WTO, Turkey charged that Washington broke free trade rules when it initially imposed tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium imports in June for most countries.
- World
- AFP
- Published Date: 12:00 | 20 August 2018
- Modified Date: 06:55 | 20 August 2018
Turkey has lodged a complaint against additional US duties on steel and aluminium at World Trade Organization, the international trade court said Monday.
US President Donald Trump earlier this month announced on Twitter that he had doubled steel and aluminium tariffs on Turkey amid a row over an American pastor held for two years on terror charges.
"Turkey claims that the measures are inconsistent with a number of provisions of the WTO's Agreement on Safeguards and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994," said a statement on the WTO's website.
The first stage in the process is a request for bilateral consultations to attempt to resolve the dispute. It can take years to resolve disputes if WTO trade judges become involved.
The two NATO members are at odds over Turkey's detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson.
The announcement of the tariffs on August 10 caused the Turkish lira to crash nearly 20 percent.
Turkey subsequently hiked tariffs on imports of several key US products such as rice, hard alcohol, leaf tobacco, cosmetics and cars.