Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, November 29, 2003
EU agrees to delay retaliatory tariffs against US
The European Union (EU) and seven other countries that had complained about the US steel tariffs have agreed to delay imposing retaliatory tariffs against the United States, officials of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said Friday.
The European Union (EU) and seven other countries that had complained about the US steel tariffs have agreed to delay imposing retaliatory tariffs against the United States, officials of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said Friday.
The officials said the EU, Brazil, China, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea and Switzerland have decided to postpone the adoption of retaliatory duties amid mounting signs that Washington is preparing to drop or at least slash the tariffs the United States imposed in 2002 on steel imports to help the country's struggling steel industry.
The WTO appeals panel ruled on Nov. 10 that the US steel duties violated rules of the trade organization. The EU, Japan and Norway had threatened to slap retaliatory duties on Dec. 6 on a wide range of US goods if Washington failed to remove the steel tariffs immediately.