WASHINGTON—U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has filed a World Trade Organization challenge against the retaliatory tariffs Canada has imposed in response to Trump’s own tariffs on steel and aluminum.Canada and other countries have previously filed WTO challenges against the U.S. tariffs. Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland has called those tariffs illegal.The argument from the Trump administration, announced Monday, is that Trump’s tariffs are legal but the retaliation is not.“The actions taken by the president are wholly legitimate and fully justified as a matter of U.S. law and international trade rules. Instead of working with us to address a common problem, some of our trading partners have elected to respond with retaliatory tariffs designed to punish American workers, farmers and companies. These tariffs appear to breach each WTO Member’s commitments under the WTO Agreement,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement.The U.S. has filed separate WTO disputes against the retaliatory tariffs imposed by Canada, China, the European Union, Mexico and Turkey, the statement said.Trump imposed the 25 per cent steel tariff and 10 per cent aluminum tariff under a controversial “national security” provision of U.S. trade law.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said it is absurd and insulting to use such a provision against Canada, a close military ally. Trump has scoffed at Trudeau’s arguments. Administration officials have argued that while Canada, itself, is not a national security threat, the weakness of U.S. steel and aluminum producers is a security problem.Canada imposed retaliatory tariffs on 235 U.S. products on July 1. U.S. steel products were hit with a 25-per-cent tariff. U.S. aluminum products and other products, ranging from soups to sleeping bags, were hit with a 10 per cent tariff. The Canadian tariffs were designed to hurt states and legislative districts ...
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