India, Russia dissatisfied with U.S. restrictions on imports of steel and aluminum

Trump said on March 8 that the United States will impose a 25% tariff on imported steel products and a 10% tariff on imported aluminum products（Aluminum foil for household 1235）. Japanese media said that today, the opposition of various countries to the Trump administration's steel and aluminum import restrictions that it initiated in March has not stopped. India, which ranks tenth in terms of steel exports to the United States, has shown that it does not rule out prosecuting the World Trade Organisation (WTO); Thailand has asked for exemptions in bilateral negotiations with the United States; Russia is already discussing countermeasures. One of the backgrounds is the dissatisfaction that some countries have been exempted very early.
According to the Nikkei Chinese website, the U.S. import restrictions impose tariffs of 25% and 10% on steel and aluminum, respectively. Despite criticisms of violations of WTO rules, the United States still uses security as a result of the start of restrictions on March 23. Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu replied in an interview with the Japan Economic News. “We have the authority and power to make decisions that are appropriate for protecting commercial interests, including the (prosecution) clause of the WTO. ”

According to reports, India’s steel exports reached US$14.5 billion in 2016 (April 2016 - March 2017), and Aluminum coating sheet 5052 exports were US$3.2 billion. The proportion of both exports to the United States is 11%, which will be greatly affected by the additional U.S. tariffs. Prabhu repeatedly stressed that "will take all possible means."

Japanese media said that Russia’s concerns are also increasing. According to the estimates of the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, in terms of losses caused by U.S. import restrictions, steel has at least 2 billion U.S. dollars and aluminum（1100 aluminum coil on sale） is 1 billion U.S. dollars. The Russian News Agency reported that Russia is exploring countermeasures based on WTO rules. The Russian side may demand that the United States cut its tariffs on other Russian products.

The report also stated that the United States decided to exempt the four countries of South Korea, Argentina, Brazil and Australia through separate consultations. The negotiations with Canada, Mexico, and the European Union are continuing and are temporarily waived.