Canada initiates WTO dispute over US imposing 25% duties on cars
Canada has submitted a request for consultation with the WTO, claiming that the U.S. should not be allowed to impose a 25% tariff on their automobiles.
Canada has initiated a complaint with the World Trade Organization over President Donald Trump imposing 25% duties on car imports from the neighboring country.
The global trade body said that Canada requested consultations on Thursday as the first step in launching the formal WTO trade dispute.
"Canada has requested WTO dispute consultations with the United States concerning US measures imposing a 25 percent duty on automobiles and automobile parts from Canada," the WTO said on Monday.
The complaint claims Trump’s measures breached previous legal agreements under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which established rules governing how countries can use tariffs on trading partners. The system was also created to prevent trade wars, especially during times when countries entered a cycle of imposing retaliatory tariffs.
"Canada claims the measures are inconsistent with the United States' obligations under various provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994," the organization continued.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian government for more information.
The WTO said consultations would allow Canada and the U.S. to resolve disputes without proceeding with litigation. However, if a solution is not reached within 60 days, the complainant may request adjudication by a panel.
Canada’s request for consultation last Thursday comes one month after initiating another WTO complaint over the U.S. imposing 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum.
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China also filed a complaint with the WTO last Friday, the same day they retaliated on Trump’s February tariffs by imposing a 34% levy on U.S. goods.
The U.S. responded to China’s retaliation by threatening an additional levy of 34% on Chinese imports, bringing the total tariffs to 70% on the country.
The commerce ministry of China said in a statement that America’s tariffs are a "typical act of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying" that violate WTO rules.
It remains unclear how the U.S. government will approach the requests for consultations. The organization’s mechanism for resolving trade disputes has been inoperative since Trump’s first term, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Trump also said on Sunday that he is not willing to make deals with countries such as China unless the trade deficits are resolved.
Fox News' Greg Norman contributed to this report.
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