Norway raises tariff concerns with US officials

The Norwegian government conveyed its concerns regarding tariffs imposed by the United States on its export products during a meeting with senior trade officials in Washington, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed on Thursday local time.

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

The US announced new tariffs on products from 60 trading partners, including Norway and the European Union, on 24 July.

Washington said the measures were partly based on concerns that those countries lacked adequate restrictions on imports of products made with forced labour.

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

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

The possibility of a trade agreement between Norway and the US was also discussed at the meeting.

“The agreement must be in Norway’s interest. We will not make an agreement at the expense of anything,” said Eide, adding that US tariff policy continues to create uncertainty even for countries that have reached agreements with Washington.