WTO's Roberto Azevedo makes rare warning of trade war over US tariff plan

The WTO is clearly concerned at the announcement of US plans for tariffs on steel and aluminium, he said

World Trade Organization Director General Roberto Azevedo expressed concern at U.S. President Donald Trump's plan for tariffs on steel and aluminium on Friday, an extremely rare intervention into a WTO member's trade policy.

"The WTO is clearly concerned at the announcement of U.S. plans for tariffs on steel and aluminium. The potential for escalation is real, as we have seen from the initial responses of others," he said in a brief statement issued by the WTO.

"A trade war is in no one's interests. The WTO will be watching the situation very closely."