The World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Wednesday it received Canada’s complaint over US tariffs, requesting dispute consultations.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday his country would file the complaint with the WTO over the US’s imposing a 25% tariff on all non-energy goods and 10% on energy goods originating in Canada.
“Canada has requested WTO dispute consultations with the United States regarding new tariff measures applied by the United States on goods originating in Canada,” the WTO said.
US tariffs are “inconsistent with various provisions” of the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade as well as with the Trade Facilitation Agreement, Canada has claimed. The complaint was circulated among WTO member states on Wednesday, the organization said.
The request for consultations is the first step of initiating a formal dispute in the WTO. If parties fail to resolve the dispute within 60 days, litigation follows.
