Russia has requested through the World Trade Organisation consultations with the US over its imposition last month of 25% steel import tariffs. This follows earlier requests for the same reason from China, the EU and India.

The US has responded to the EU's and India’s requests in the same fashion. It says in each case that its Steel and Aluminum Proclamations are not safeguard measures, but that they fall under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. “Therefore, there is no basis to conduct consultations under the Agreement on Safeguards with respect to these measures,” the US says in a WTO note seen by Kallanish.

“Article 12.3 of the Agreement on Safeguards states that a ‘Member proposing to apply or extend a safeguard measure shall provide adequate opportunity for prior consultations’ with Members having a substantial interest in exports of the product concerned. However, the United States is not proposing ‘to apply or extend a safeguard measure’ with respect to steel or aluminum, and therefore Article 12.3 does not apply,” the US continues.

The US is, however, open to discuss this issue with both India and the EU, it adds.

In its consultation request note, Russia says: “Although the United States presented the measures at issue as being adopted to address the threat that imports of steel and aluminium pose to the US national security, they are in essence safeguard measures, and the Agreement on Safeguards and Article XIX of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994) are applicable to them.”

“The Russian Federation is a WTO Member that has a substantial interest as exporter of the products subject to the safeguard measures,” it adds.

The US is yet to respond to either Russia or China’s requests for consultation.