WTO postpones decision on US metals tariffs to second half of 2021

The World Trade Organization has postponed its ruling on metals tariffs imposed by the United States until at least the second half of 2021, giving President Joe Biden more time if he wishes to settle disputes.

The WTO group, which tackles the challenges posed by China, the European Union, India, Norway, Russia, Switzerland and Turkey, previously said its final report would not be until fall 2020, implying that it would be released after the US presidential election.

The three-person group said in a statement Monday that the report will not be released until the second half of this year. It says the delay was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former US President Donald Trump's administration imposed 25% duties on incoming steel and 10% on aluminum in 2018, in accordance with a 1962 US law that allows the president to restrict imports for reasons of national security.

The measures prompted nine complaints to the WTO from steel exporting countries. Canada and Mexico have since dropped their business after negotiating an updated free trade pact with the United States.

The case depends on the exception to the rules of global trade that the WTO allows in cases of national security.

The central US argument is that national security is a matter for countries to judge, not something that should be assessed by a three-person WTO commission in Geneva.

The EU told the WTO in November 2019 that the tariffs do not protect US security, but are intended to "make America rich again."