TOKYO: US key allies Japan and the EU notified the World Trade Organization on Friday (May 18) of a wave of retaliatory measures against US…
TOKYO: US key allies Japan and the EU notified the World Trade Organization on Friday (May 18) of a wave of retaliatory measures against US tariffs on steel and aluminium, raising the prospects of a trade war.
Japan informed the WTO it had the right to impose tariffs on US goods worth ¥50 billion (US$451 million) — equivalent to the impact of the US tariffs newly imposed on Japanese metal products, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
But the ministry stopped short of indicating when Tokyo might take action, saying: «We plan to decide appropriately, considering the impact on Japanese companies as well as related US measures.»
The European Union has made it clear that it does not for now intend to use the counter-measures, but that the notification leaves all options on the table as a Jun 1 deadline to stop the US administration’s tariffs approaches.
The list drawn up by the Europan Commission, the EU’s executive arm, includes tariffs on peanut butter, motorcycles and denim jeans, in case US President Donald Trump slapped on the tariffs.
Trump sparked fears of a trade war in March when he decided to impose 25 per cent tariffs on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium imports, primarily to target China, but also allies, including EU countries as well as Japan.
