Washington: The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has ruled that steel tariffs imposed by US President George W Bush last year to protect the American industry from a surge of imported steel violated international trade rules.

The WTO was acting on complaints by the European Union (EU) and major steel producers and exporters in Asia and Latin America.

A US trade official said they intend to appeal, which could take many months and will perhaps last till the end of the three-year life of the current US tariffs.

The main thrust of the complaints by the EU, Japan, Brazil, China and others was that the tariffs, supposedly aimed at protecting the US industry from a "surge" of imported steel, came when US imports had been declining for a couple of years.

US Congressmen reacted sharply to the decision with Democrat Sander M Levin, member of House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, saying it "furthers a trend that jeopardises the credibility of the WTO dispute settlement system and must serve as a wake-up call for the administration".

"Ultimately, these types of decisions will only undermine confidence in the WTO," Democrat Max Baucus of Senate Finance Committee said.

PTI