[ad_1]
GENEVA / BRUSSELS: The World Trade Organization found on Tuesday (September 15) that the United States had violated world trade rules by imposing multi-million dollar tariffs in President Donald Trump’s trade war with China, a ruling that drew the ire of Washington .
Washington says the tariffs it imposed two years ago on more than $ 200 billion worth of Chinese goods were justified because China was forcing companies to transfer technology and intellectual property.
But the WTO’s three-person panel said the US tariffs violated trade rules because they applied only to China and were above the maximum rates agreed by the United States. Washington had not then adequately explained why its measures were a justified exception, the panel concluded.
“This panel report confirms what the Trump administration has been saying for four years: The WTO is completely inadequate to stop China’s harmful technology practices,” US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement.
China’s Commerce Ministry said Beijing supports the multilateral trading system and abides by WTO rules and rulings, and hopes Washington will do the same.
The United States could appeal against Tuesday’s ruling. However, that would leave the case in a loophole, because Washington has already blocked the appointment of judges to the WTO appeals body, preventing it from convening the minimum number required to hear cases.
The WTO panel knew it was getting into hot water. He noted that he had only examined US measures and not retaliation from China, which Washington has not challenged in the WTO.
“The panel is well aware of the broader context in which the WTO system currently operates, reflecting an unprecedented range of global trade tensions,” the 66-page report concluded.
DO INVENTORY
The panel recommended that the United States bring its measures “in conformity with its obligations”, but also encouraged the two parties to work to resolve the overall dispute.
“… Time is available for the parties to take stock as procedures evolve and consider further opportunities for mutually agreed and satisfactory solutions,” he said.
Trump threatened to apply tariffs on $ 500 billion worth of goods during his two-year trade war with China, before signing a “Phase 1” trade deal with Beijing earlier this year. Additional tariffs still apply on Chinese goods worth $ 370 billion.
The US president has described the WTO as “horrible” and biased towards China, threatening to resign. Josh Hawley, a Republican senator from Missouri, tweeted that he should do just that: “America should stand down and lead the effort to abolish it.”
Trump, a critic of multilateral institutions, has already left the UN cultural organization UNESCO and plans to leave the World Health Organization.
