Canada files WTO challenge of US tariffs, to work with EU

The industrial skyline in Hamilton, Ontario, the centre of the steel industry in Canada, on May 31, 2018. PHOTO: NYTIMES

OTTAWA (REUTERS) - Canada filed a challenge to the US tariffs on steel and aluminum with the World Trade Organisation on Friday and said it will request a Chapter 20 panel under the North American Free Trade Agreement on Friday (June 1) in response to the US move.

"These unilateral tariffs, imposed under a false pretext of safeguarding US national security, are inconsistent with the United States' international trade obligations and WTO rules,"Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement.

"Canada will closely collaborate with the European Union, which also filed a WTO challenge today, as well as with other like-minded countries, on opposing these tariffs," she added.

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