Canada's Freeland says U.S. trade actions illegal under WTO rules

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said after talks with members of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday that U.S. trade actions against Canada are illegal under World Trade Organization rules.

Freeland said while Canada believes the U.S. use of a national security rationale to impose tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium imports is absurd, it is confident common sense will ultimately prevail.

(Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Writing by Mohammad Zargham)