WTO rules against U.S. import duties on steel, aluminium, Norway says

OSLO (Reuters) – The Norwegian foreign ministry said on Thursday a World Trade Organization panel had ruled in Norway’s favour against the United States in a case the Nordic country had brought over U.S. import duties imposed in 2018 on steel and aluminium.

“The WTO panel’s report, which was released today, concludes that the U.S. tariff on steel and aluminium was in breach of the WTO rules,” the Norwegian ministry said in a statement.

In March 2018, then-U.S. President Donald Trump signed a memorandum to impose the tariffs, later exempting some allies, while Norway, a major aluminium producer, was among those that were hit.

Several WTO members have filed similar challenges with the trade body, including the European Union, China, India, Russia, Switzerland and Turkey. The rulings are expected to be issued around the end of this year.

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik in Oslo and Phil Blenkinsop in Brussels, editing by Mark Heinrich, Kirsten Donovan)