U.S. President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs met a barrage of criticism at a World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting Friday, as the European Union (EU), Japan, Australia and others joined a debate started by China and Russia.

The EU representative dismissed U.S. assertions that the steps were needed to protect national security, saying Washington was just trying to support its industry, a Geneva trade official said.

WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said it was positive to see the discussion happening within the WTO’s walls, since taking disputes outside greatly increased “the risk of escalation in a confrontation that will have no winners.”

“Disrupting trade flows will jeopardize the global economy at a time when economic recovery, though fragile, has been increasingly evident around the world,” he said in a statement.

“I again call for restraint and urgent dialogue as the best path forward to resolve these problems.”

China and Russia have already said they are drawing up plans to retaliate to offset the impact of the tariffs.

Russia queried the basis for temporary exemptions to the tariffs, which Washington has granted to the EU, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Mexico, South Korea and Brazil, the official said.

South Korea said countries should be careful using national security as a reason for trade barriers, as it might set off a domino effect with other states piling in to justify measures to protect their own industries.

Japan said the U.S. move was regrettable, and Turkey asked how it could be in line with WTO rules, the trade official added.

Others echoed the concerns about a domino effect, and said it might damage the WTO consensus, under which states have shied away from invoking security to justify barriers.

Brazil said the issue could only be addressed multilaterally, but added that it was encouraged by U.S. efforts for bilateral talks on the issue, the official added.

The U.S. representative at the meeting did not respond directly to the criticism but said its tariffs were “consistent” with the WTO’s General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

European Union leaders called on Trump on Friday to make permanent an EU exemption from U.S. metal import duties, saying they reserved the right to respond “in a proportionate manner” to protect the bloc’s interests.

The 40-day reprieve granted by Washington was like Trump pointing a gun at Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron said at a summit in Brussels.

“We will talk about anything in principle with a country that respects WTO rules. We will not talk about anything when it is with a gun to our head,” he told a news conference.

The EU’s trade chief demanded that the United States drop “artificial deadlines” and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said it was impossible to reach agreement by May 1.

EU heads of state and government has said in a joint statement that Trump’s tariffs measures were regrettable, could not be justified on national security grounds, which was the basis cited by Washington, and the exemption should be permanent. (SD-Agencies)