In this file photo taken on Nov. 11, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin talk as they make their way to take the "family photo" during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit in the central Vietnamese city of Danang. (Xinhua/AFP)

MOSCOW, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Russia has filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin said Friday.

"The claim was caused by numerous violations of the WTO rules that the United States committed when introducing the tariffs," Oreshkin said in a statement.

With a few suspensions and exemptions, the United States introduced a 25-percent tariff on steel and a 10-percent tariff on aluminum imports, starting March 23, to protect its domestic producers.

In April, Russia requested consultations with the United States within the WTO dispute settlement procedure, saying the tariffs violated the WTO agreement on protective measures.

Earlier this month, Oreshkin said Russia would impose duties on imports of U.S. goods in response to the tariffs.

Russian customs data showed that last year the country exported 8.9 million tons of rolled steel products worth 3.3 billion U.S. dollars and 3.5 million tons of aluminum worth nearly 5 billion dollars.

According to a preliminary assessment, Russia will lose 2 billion dollars on steel and 1 billion dollars on aluminum due to the tariffs.