Germany warns US of opposing steel tariffs

European Union trade ministers decided at a meeting on Tuesday that they would respond with countermeasures if the United States brought in import tariffs on rolled steel and aluminum, German Deputy Economy Minister Matthias Mahnig said.

He said the tariff introduction, which was adopted by US President Donald Trump, would be incompatible with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and unjustified for reasons of national security.

But he said they don't yet know if Trump will actually follow the proposal of US Secretary of Commerce Wilber Ross and impose customs or import quotas.

The US Commerce Department has recommended that Trump impose steep restrictions on steel and aluminum imports from China and elsewhere, ranging from tariffs to broad import quotas. Trump makes a decision before April.

Trump said Monday he wants to bring the steel industry back to America, even if that means applying tariffs on imports from other countries, but the White House said he hadn't made a final decision on the matter.

Mahnig said Europeans think the idea that such import restrictions can be justified by national security risks is "absurd."

But he said there is no discussion yet on how the Europeans will respond if Trump decides to restrict steel and aluminum imports.

European countries were not united on what to do to protect companies from foreign takeovers made through so-called third-country investors from outside the EU.

Mahnig said that major European countries such as Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and several others have supported the European Commission's proposals on this issue, but there is another group of countries that still need to discuss this issue.

In September, the head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker proposed to limit China's ability to buy up European companies in the field of infrastructure, high-tech manufacturing and energy.