GENEVA: China launched a complaint at the World Trade Organization on Friday against US import duties on 22 Chinese products that the United States says are unfairly priced or subsidised, including solar panels, wind towers and steel products.
"China firmly opposes the abuse of trade remedy measures and trade protectionism," China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.
The complaint, which also encompasses such diverse products as citric acid, kitchen shelving and lawn groomers, covers exports to the United States worth $7.3 billion, the Ministry said.
A spokeswoman for the Office of the US Trade Representative, Nkenge Harmon, said it was studying the complaint and would respond in accordance with WTO rules.
"The Obama Administration strongly supports the trade remedy laws, and was the first Administration ever to apply a 421 safeguard to imports from China," she said.
A 421 safeguard is a US measure that allows manufacturers to request emergency restrictions on Chinese imports in response to a surge.
China's complaint counter-attacks in areas where the United States has been critical of China in the past few years. Eight days ago the US Commerce Department set punitive tariffs on Chinese solar panels, which it said Chinese exporters had dumped on the US market at unfairly low prices.
The United States also launched a trade suit over Chinese government grants to wind power manufacturers in December 2010, although it did not pursue the case to the arbitration stage at the time, and hit Chinese steel pipe imports with hefty anti-dumping duties earlier in the same year.
COMPLAINT WON
But last year China won a WTO complaint similar to Friday's against US duties on imports of Chinese steel pipes, off-road tyres and woven sacks. US Trade Representative Ron Kirk called that decision "a clear case of overreaching" by the judges.
indiatimes.com
"China firmly opposes the abuse of trade remedy measures and trade protectionism," China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.
The complaint, which also encompasses such diverse products as citric acid, kitchen shelving and lawn groomers, covers exports to the United States worth $7.3 billion, the Ministry said.
A spokeswoman for the Office of the US Trade Representative, Nkenge Harmon, said it was studying the complaint and would respond in accordance with WTO rules.
"The Obama Administration strongly supports the trade remedy laws, and was the first Administration ever to apply a 421 safeguard to imports from China," she said.
A 421 safeguard is a US measure that allows manufacturers to request emergency restrictions on Chinese imports in response to a surge.
China's complaint counter-attacks in areas where the United States has been critical of China in the past few years. Eight days ago the US Commerce Department set punitive tariffs on Chinese solar panels, which it said Chinese exporters had dumped on the US market at unfairly low prices.
The United States also launched a trade suit over Chinese government grants to wind power manufacturers in December 2010, although it did not pursue the case to the arbitration stage at the time, and hit Chinese steel pipe imports with hefty anti-dumping duties earlier in the same year.
COMPLAINT WON
But last year China won a WTO complaint similar to Friday's against US duties on imports of Chinese steel pipes, off-road tyres and woven sacks. US Trade Representative Ron Kirk called that decision "a clear case of overreaching" by the judges.
indiatimes.com
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