WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand will mount a legal challenge through the World Trade Organization against tariffs imposed on steel imports by the United States, Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton said Tuesday.
In March, the U.S. government put three-year tariffs of up to 30 percent on steel imports to protect its domestic steel industry from foreign competition.
After several months of talks with U.S. authorities and the WTO, New Zealand has not been convinced the United States can justify its move under WTO rules, Sutton said in a statement.
“Accordingly, we are now requesting that a WTO dispute settlement panel be established to consider our complaint,” he added.
New Zealand steel exports to the United States last year totaled around 70 million New Zealand dollars ($34.3 million).
Several other WTO members are already mounting challenges against the measure.
A WTO dispute settlement panel could take until early next year to make a decision on the legality of the U.S. move. An appeal could follow that, Sutton said.
The government this week instructed officials to set up a system to monitor steel imports into New Zealand. This followed fears New Zealand’s small steel industry could be endangered by a surge in imported steel diverted from the U.S. market.
