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DUBAI / Reuters
The United Arab Emirates is asking Washington to exempt it from new US tariffs on aluminium and steel and believes it has a strong case, a senior government official said on Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump is pressing ahead with imposing import tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminium, but has already exempted neighbouring Canada and Mexico and offered to exclude allies. The UAE is the third-largest exporter of aluminium to the United States, after China and Russia, and also sells its steel there.
Juma al-Kait, assistant undersecretary for foreign trade affairs at the UAE economy ministry, told Reuters that officials were speaking with members of the US administration.
“There’s open dialogue with the US government … We think we have a strong case to be exempt.
Demand in the US market is high for high quality aluminium,†said Kait.
“We want to make clear that our exports are in fair competition with the market and are in line with international trade agreements on free trade,†he added. Although the tariffs have not been officially notified to the World Trade Organization, Trump has justified the tariffs by invoking a “national security†clause under Section 232 of the 1962 US Trade Expansion Act, the first time it has been used since WTO was created in 1995.