*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)
Breaking with President Donald Trump, outgoing Attorney General William Barr says he sees “no reason” to appoint a special counsel on potential election fraud or the tax investigation into the son of President-elect Joe Biden.
A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that represented Virginia in the U.S. Capitol has been removed. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said in a statement that workers removed the statue from the National Statuary Hall Collection early Monday.
Congressional leaders have hashed out a massive, year-end catchall bill that combines $900 billion in COVID-19 aid with a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill.
Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) sent a last-minute Christmas request this week to the leaders of six major streaming services on behalf of the American public.
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.
Top negotiators on a must-pass, almost $1 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package are committed to sealing an agreement in hopes of passing the legislation this weekend.
The legislative branch of government is rapidly moving to receive the coronavirus vaccine, with both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell getting the shot on Friday.
As the second wave of COVID-19 sweeps the U.S., frontline doctors are reliving the worst of the pandemic. Cheddar's Michelle Castillo finds out how doctors are coping.
Outgoing freshman Representative Joe Cunningham (D-S.C. 1st District) capped his farewell speech today with an unorthodox — and prohibited — gesture on the House floor.
Dozens of states filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Google on Thursday, alleging that the search giant has an illegal monopoly over the online search market that hurts consumers and advertisers.
Load More