NEW DELHI: Certain WTO countries, including India, Switzerland, Russia, and Japan, have criticised the safeguard measures imposed by the EU and the UK on imports of certain steel products, stating it is inconsistent with global trade rules, an official said.
The comments were made by these countries during the meeting of World Trade Organisation’s (WTO’s) Safeguards Committee on October 25.
The Geneva-based official said, “Switzerland, Brazil, Japan, China, Korea, Russia and India criticised the European Union’s decision to maintain its safeguard measure on imports of certain steel products, which was imposed by the EU after the US imposed additional duties on steel imports during the Trump administration.”
“These members regretted the EU’s decision not to terminate the measure during a recent review and argued the safeguard was inconsistent with WTO rules,” the official said.
However, the EU argued that the safeguard will expire at the end of June 2024.
Further India, Korea, Switzerland, Japan, Russia and Brazil “criticised the UK for maintaining its safeguard measures on imports of certain steel products”, the official said.
