Washington says WTO decision letting China tax US imports 'deeply disappointing'

After the World Trade Organization [WTO] granted China a new tariff weapon in retaliation to $645 million worth of annual American exports escalating the trade war between the two largest economies, Washington on Tuesday derided the move. On 26 January, a WTO arbitrator announced the WTO’s decision on the level of countermeasures China may request in its dispute with the United States regarding Washington countervailing duties on certain products from China, according to the press document issued by the WTO. The global trade organization authorized China to impose compensatory tariffs against America, a measure that caused widespread condemnation from the United States. 

While the amount was lower than what was requested by Beijing—an estimated $2.4 billion, China attained the legal authority to target American goods and products. As China holds the formal WTO authorization to retaliate against US goods and services in a new turn to the commerce and trade dispute that dates back to 2012, spokesman for the US Trade Representative, Adam Hodge, said in a statement that the decision made by the WTO is “deeply disappointing.”

It “reflects erroneous Appellate Body interpretations that damage the ability of WTO members to defend our workers and businesses from China’s trade-distorting subsidies," US Trade Representative, Adam Hodge, reportedly said in a statement. 

US seeks reformation in WTO rules following dispute settlement

In an emailed statement, Hodge stressed that the WTO’s decision “reinforces the need to reform WTO rules and dispute settlement, which have been used to shield China’s non-market economic practices and undermine fair, market-oriented competition,” according to Swissinfo. 

The United States had imposed a series of tariffs on Chinese goods. Illegal countervailing duties were slapped on about a dozen Chinese imports including thermal paper, pipes, citric acid, lawnmowers, kitchen shelving, magnesia bricks, print graphics, solar panels, wind towers, and steel sinks. US tariffs on more than the US $300 billion worth of Chinese goods were also imposed by former US President Donald Trump. In 2012,  Beijing went to the WTO to challenge anti-subsidy tariffs the United States imposed between 2008 and 2012, on over 22 Chinese products including solar panels and steel wires. As the decision was announced Washington accused the WTO of leniency towards China, adding that it benefits from easier treatment at the WTO.