BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union will impose counter measures after the United States decided to no longer exempt it from steel and aluminum tariffs, the head of the bloc’s executive Jean-Claude Juncker said on Thursday.

The United States said it was moving ahead with tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from Canada, Mexico and the EU, ending a two-month exemption and potentially setting the stage for a trade war with some of America’s top allies.

“This is a bad day for world trade,” Juncker said in a speech in Brussels. “So we will immediately introduce a settlement dispute with the WTO and will announce counter balancing measures in the coming hours.”

“It is totally unacceptable that a country is imposing unilateral measures when it comes to world trade.”