Norway raises tariff concerns in talks with US trade official

Oslo, Aug 21 (IANS) Norway has raised concerns over US tariffs on Norwegian goods during talks with a senior US trade official in Washington, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Norwegian State Secretary Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik met Deputy United States Trade Representative Jeff Goettman on Wednesday and discussed the tariffs as well as an ongoing US investigation into global industrial overcapacity, the ministry said in a statement.

The United States announced new tariffs on goods from 60 trading partners, including Norway and the European Union (EU), on July 24. Washington said the measures were partly based on concerns that the countries lacked adequate restrictions on imports of products made using forced labor, reports Xinhua news agency.

“We strongly disagree with the US’s unilateral use of tariffs and the justification for them. Kravik emphasized in the meeting that there is no basis for treating Norway differently than the EU,” said Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide in the statement.

During the meeting, Kravik also challenged the basis of the US overcapacity investigation, which covers Norway, the EU and 14 other countries, Eide noted.

The possibility of a trade agreement between Norway and the United States was also discussed in the meeting.

“An agreement must be in Norway’s interest. We will not enter into an agreement at any price,” Eide said, adding that US tariff policy continued to create uncertainty even for countries that had already reached agreements with Washington.

After the meeting, Norwegian State Secretary posted on X: “Constructive meeting with Deputy @USTradeRep Jeffrey Goettman. We discussed the longstanding trading relationship between Norway and the US. I reiterated Norway’s firm opposition to the Section 301 investigations of Norway. I look forward to continuing our dialogue on this issue.”

–IANS

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