Norway files WTO complaint against US over steel, aluminum tariffs

OSLO - Norway on Tuesday filed a complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to fight back against US tariffs on steel and aluminum, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Norway requested WTO dispute settlement consultations with the United States as the first stage of the international organization's settlement process, the Norwegian ministry said in a statement.

"In Norway's view, the additional tariffs imposed by the United States on steel and aluminum imports are a violation of the WTO rules," Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Soreide was quoted as saying.

"The WTO and its dispute settlement system is the established forum for handling disagreements about trade policy," she said.

The Norwegian minister said that Washington's "disregard for WTO rules weakens the credibility of the United States in international trade, and risks undermining the rules based multilateral trading system".

So far, the European Union (EU), Canada, Mexico, China, India and some other economies have also requested dispute settlement consultations with the United States in response to the additional tariffs.

Amid waves of criticism, the United States had decided to impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum, for the EU, Canada and Mexico, starting on June 1.

The imposition of the new tariffs has been viewed as "pure protectionism" by the EU.