Oslo: Norway on Friday strongly opposed a new 12.5 percent U.S. tariff on its imports, calling Washington's unilateral measure unjustified.
"We strongly disagree with the United States' unilateral use of tariffs against Norway and other countries. We also disagree with the justification for this new tariff," Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement on Friday.
The United States has announced an additional tariff of 12.5 percent on goods from Norway and dozens of other economies, replacing the global additional tariff of 10 percent that expires on Friday, alleging those countries failed to ban goods produced using forced labor.
Norway called the tariff baseless as clear rules are already in place to prevent trade in goods produced using forced labor, said the statement.
The Norwegian government estimated that about 67 percent of U.S. imports from Norway would be covered by the 12.5 percent new tariff. Trade unions, employers' organizations and business associations would be invited to a meeting on the situation as soon as possible, it said.
