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Update: EU rules out new trade talks with US; opens WTO case, vows retaliation

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Update: EU rules out new trade talks with US; opens WTO case, vows retaliation

The European Union will not return to negotiations with the U.S. to settle a row over steel and aluminum tariffs, as the bloc opened a case at the World Trade Organization and began formulating retaliatory measures.

European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said the door for talks is closed. "We are not going to enter into any negotiations," she said in a press conference.

"The European Union will today send a request for consultations, and later a panel, to the WTO," she added. "We have started the preparations for the so-called rebalancing measures. We will do that in a proportionate and measured way."

Malmström criticized the U.S. for using the threat of trade restrictions in previous talks to extract concessions from the EU. "This is not the way the European Union is negotiating," she said.

The EU trade chief said last week that the U.S. seemed unsatisfied with proposals that the bloc submitted in an effort to obtain a permanent exemption from the tariffs.

Washington imposed the 25% tariff on steel imports and 10% tariff on aluminum imports in March, citing national security grounds. Temporary exemptions were granted to Canada, Mexico and the EU as trade talks continued.

The Trump administration decided not to renew the exemptions, which expired as scheduled on June 1.

Mexico also threatened equivalent measures against the U.S., while Canada said it will also pursue WTO action and impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products worth C$16.6 billion.

Malmström said Washington's protectionist moves will never solve trade issues and will only hurt jobs in both the EU and U.S.