EU hits back with additional duties on several imports from U.S.
"I am concerned by this decision. The EU believes these unilateral US tariffs are unjustified and at odds with World Trade Organisation rules. This is protectionism, pure and simple," President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said in response to the U.S. decision to impose additional duties on steel and aluminum imports.
He underlined that over the past months EU has continuously engaged with the U.S. at all possible levels to jointly address the problem of overcapacity in the steel sector. At the same time, he said, the EU is not the source of overcapacity but on the contrary equally hurt by it.
"The U.S. now leaves us with no choice but to proceed with a WTO dispute settlement case and with the imposition of additional duties on a number of imports from the US," said the head of the European Commission.
Earlier, the U.S. announced that starting on 1 June 2018 it will impose additional duties of 25 % and 10 % respectively on imports of steel and aluminum from the EU.