Washington: The White House has denied that President George W Bush's controversial decision to slap tariffs on steel imports will spark a trade war or sap key allies' support for the US-led war on terror.

Asked whether an international outcry over the decision would lead to either outcome, Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters, "the answer is no, on both".

Bush "believes that this was a situation that is permissible under the World Trade Organisation rules, and the WTO rules are set up to help nations deal with what is inevitable: frictions and differences as we engage in free trade", the spokesman added.

The European Union has already officially launched a counter-attack after Bush announced 30 per cent tariffs on a wide range of steel imports, lodging a formal complaint with the WTO, a WTO official said in Geneva.

Asked whether the President sought input from outside the United Stated before he made his decision, Fleischer would only say, "I think it's fair to say he heard from foreign leaders, yes."

The US leader's decision was taken under Section 201 of the 1974 trade law, which lets the president impose punitive tariffs on imports found to have caused injury to the domestic industry. No proof of unfair trade is required.

The European Union launched a counter attack on US steel tariffs on March 7, officially lodging a complaint with the World Trade Organisation, a WTO official said in Geneva.