*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)
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has blocked Democrats’ push to immediately bring President Donald Trump’s demand for bigger $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks up for a vote.
As 2020 winds to a close, the industry will head into 2021 propelled by titanic shifts in the perception of cannabis in the U.S. and unprecedented political tailwinds.
The House voted Monday to increase COVID-19 relief checks to $2,000, meeting President Donald Trump’s demand for bigger payments and sending the bill to the GOP-controlled Senate, where the outcome is uncertain.
Southwest Airlines says it's not going to furlough workers in 2021 after all. The airline's CEO says that with Washington's approval of $15 billion in new federal aid to airlines, furloughs or pay cuts aren't needed.
President Donald Trump’s last-minute demand for $2,000 checks for most Americans has thrown the yea-end COVID relief into chaos. House Republicans on Thursday swiftly rejected the demand.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
Following 2020's Hanukkah celebration, Cheddar's Jill Wagner looks into the often overlooked issue of antisemitism still plaguing the United States.
Britain and the European Union have struck a provisional free-trade agreement that should avert New Year’s chaos for cross-border commerce and bring a measure of certainty to businesses after years of Brexit turmoil.
President Donald Trump has plunged Washington into chaos once more by mounting another desperate attempt to cling to power while leaving lawmakers scrambling to respond to his threat to detonate Congress’ massive COVID-19 relief and year-end package.
President Donald Trump has vetoed the annual defense policy bill, following through on threats to veto a measure that has broad bipartisan support in Congress and potentially setting up the first override vote of his presidency.
