WTO says there is still time to discuss US tariff move

9th March 2018 By: Reuters

World Trade Organization (WTO) members still have time to discuss the US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports signed by President Donald Trump on Thursday, and it is up to them what happens next, WTO spokesperson Dan Pruzin told reporters on Friday.

"Certainly there is still time to discuss this, and there is still time to discuss this within the format of the WTO, in our councils and committees," Pruzin said.

“There is an obligation for a member who takes a measure such as a safeguard or an anti-dumping measure or a counter-vailing measure to notify the organization of that measure. Now we don’t know what the legal basis for the US measure is, so I can't comment on whether or not they have an obligation to notify the announced measures from last night to the WTO.”