Trade minister Takeo Hiranuma has reconfirmed that he will make joint efforts with the European Union to fight U.S. import curbs on steel products, a ministry official said Tuesday.
In a 45-minute telephone conversation with EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy, Hiranuma explained that Tokyo may take retaliatory action if the United States does not take measures to compensate Japan.
Lamy said the EU is in a similar position, the official said. The EU representative is expected to meet soon with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick over the steel issue.