US auto tariffs: Canada launches WTO complaint
The World Trade Organization, WTO, on Monday, said Canada has launched a complaint over the steep tariff imposed on car imports by US President Donald Trump.
The WTO stated that Canada also requested its dispute consultations with the United States, concerning US measures imposing a 25 percent duty on automobiles and automobile parts from Canada.
SO reports that the request was filed last Thursday, the day the additional levy came into effect for all cars and car parts not manufactured in the United States, but it was only circulated to WTO members on Monday.
The Canadian government, in the request, charged that the tariffs were inconsistent with the United States’ obligations under international trade laws.
Canada immediately hit back on the levies, saying Thursday that it would impose a 25 percent tariff on tens of thousands of vehicles imported from the United States.
Since the second return of Trump to the White House last January, he has unleashed a barrage of tariffs, and last week hit countries and goods around the world, sending markets crashing.
Canada was largely spared from the sweeping global tariffs Trump announced last Wednesday, as Washington granted an exemption to goods compliant with the US-Canada-Mexico free trade agreement, which covers most products.
However, Canada, one of America’s largest trading partners, is still facing tariffs on steel, aluminum and other products, in addition to the levies on automobiles.
