On July 12th, the foreign trade authorities of Switzerland requested, in the framework of the dispute settlement mechanism of the World Trade Organization (WTO), consultations with the United States regarding the power of the Americans over certain steel products and imported aluminum.
Switzerland argues that the US duties of 25% and 10% on imports of steel and aluminum products, respectively, are inconsistent with the provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994) and the Agreement on Safeguards.
The European country argues that the continued recourse of the United States authorities to Article 232 in order to protect domestic production by restricting imports from other WTO members on the basis of the alleged threat to national security is inconsistent with the corresponding obligations under the covered agreements.
The aforementioned measures appear to nullify or impair the benefits accruing to Switzerland directly or indirectly from the covered agreements,”
say the authorities in their complaint. This is the same measure that affects exports of these metals from Costa Rica.