France, Germany 'regret' US metal tariffs

Paris [France], June 01 (ANI): France and Germany have regretted the "unilateral decisions" of the United States to impose additional duties on imports of steel and aluminium from the European Union (EU).
"In line with the statement made by the European Commission, France and Germany regret the decisions taken unilaterally by the US authorities," a joint declaration issued by French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian, French Minister for Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire, Germany's Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier, read.
"As announced by the European Commission, we will take all appropriate measures and respond accordingly," the statement read.
On Thursday, the US announced that starting on June 1, it will impose additional duties of 25 percent and 10 percent respectively on imports of steel and aluminium from the EU.
U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier granted the EU a two-month temporary exemption from tariffs on metal imports which expired on June 1.
According to the statement issued by the European Commission, in response to the announcement made by the US, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, said, "I am concerned by this decision. The EU believes these unilateral US tariffs are unjustified and at odds with World Trade Organisation rules. This is protectionism, pure and simple. Over the past months, we have continuously engaged with the US at all possible levels to jointly address the problem of overcapacity in the steel sector." (ANI)