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Russia might challenge US import duties on steel and aluminum in WTO court

Russia plans to apply to the WTO court because of the import duties on steel and aluminum imposed by US President Donald Trump

MOSCOW, March 23. /TASS/. Russia plans to apply to the WTO court because of the import duties on steel and aluminum imposed by US President Donald Trump, Russia’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Viktor Evtukhov said on Friday.

"The fact that the US has now introduced duties on steel and aluminum closely concerns Russia and China. Our goal here - both our Ministry and the Department for Trade Negotiations - is to actively engage in this process, go to the WTO dispute settlement authority and to recognize that these duties were introduced in violation of the WTO rules," Evtukhov said.

In early March, US President Donald Trump imposed import duties on steel and aluminum (25% and 10% respectively), which came into force on March 23. At the same time, until May 1, duties will not apply to products from Canada, Mexico, European Union, Australia, Argentina, Brazil and South Korea.

Many countries have already promised a symmetrical response to the United States and declared their intention to apply to the WTO. Russia also expressed concern. At the same time, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, although these measures will cause some damage to the Russian industry, it will be less than in a number of other countries, in particular, China.