*By Christian Smith* Pressure continues to mount on President Donald Trump to walk back his tariff policy, with Russia becoming the seventh World Trade Organization member to officially challenge the White House's duties on steel and aluminum. And while the organization will take up these cases, Politico trade reporter Megan Cassella said the process will likely take a long time to play out. "The WTO doesn't tend to do anything quickly," Cassella said in an interview on Cheddar Tuesday. Even if the WTO, an intergovernmental agency that overseas international trade, does eventually come to a conclusion, the U.S. could still avoid any repercussions. "Given the Trump administration's sort of disdain for the WTO and its legal rulings, it's also possible that, even if they do eventually come to a conclusion, Trump might just say, 'Well you know, that's it then, that's the end of the U.S. membership in the WTO'," Cassella noted. Russia's appeal filed last week cites "numerous violations of WTO rules by the United States in introducing this measure," said Russian Economic Development Minister Maksim Oreshkin in a [statement](https://www.rt.com/business/431256-russia-tariffs-us-good/). The 25 percent tax on foreign steel and 10 percent tax on foreign aluminum took effect June 1. The Trump administration justified the tariffs using the 1962 Trade Expansion Act, which grants the president the power to restrict imports to protect national security. But not everyone is buying into the White House's rationale. China, India, the European Union, Canada, Mexico, Norway, and now Russia have all filed complaints with the WTO. For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/russia-challenges-trumps-tariffs-in-wto)

Share:
More In Politics
Supreme Court Set to Decide on Abortion Pill Access
The Supreme Court is facing a self-imposed Friday night deadline to decide whether women’s access to a widely used abortion pill will stay unchanged until a legal challenge to its Food and Drug Administration approval is resolved.
Climate Tension: UN Chief Chides Biden, Other World Leaders
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres bluntly challenged the climate efforts of President Joe Biden and other world leaders Thursday in a message for a White House summit, charging that expanded oil and gas drilling and other policies of the richest countries amount to a “death sentence” for the planet.
Load More