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1st LD: U.S. tariffs not justified by its "national security" rationale: Chinese diplomat

Xinhua,May 09, 2018 Adjust font size:

GENEVA, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The lately imposed tariffs of the United States on steel and aluminum do not aim at protecting the so-called "national security" but serve to protect commercial interests of the domestic industries, said Chinese Ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Zhang Xiangchen here on Tuesday.

In a meeting of WTO General Council, Zhang said that according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Commerce and statistics provided by the U.S. Department of Defense, "it is obvious that the reason of these measures is not national security".

He added that the imports subject to the latest imposed tariffs account for only 5 percent of U.S. steel consumption.

Zhang noted that the U.S. import of steel accounts for around 16 percent of its consumption, and about 70 percent of its import comes from the members exempted, temporarily or permanently, from the new tariff measures.

Despite worldwide objection, the U.S. administration decided in March to impose a 25-percent tariff on steel imports and a 10-percent tariff on aluminum imports. The White House then provided temporary exemptions for EU member states as well as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Korea. Enditem

 

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