China says WTO ruling shows US is a ‘repeat abuser’ of trade remedy measures

SHANGHAI (Reuters): China said that a ruling by the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Obama-era US tariffs showed that the United States was a “repeat abuser” of trade remedy measures, and urged it to take immediate action to correct faulty practices.

China’s Ministry Of Commerce also asked the United States to provide Chinese companies with a “fair and stable international trade environment” in a statement posted on its website late Wednesday.

The WTO said on Wednesday said that the United States did not fully comply with a 2014 ruling against its anti-subsidy tariffs on a range of Chinese products.

However, it supported the US claim that Chinese exporters were getting subsidies from “public bodies”, despite Beijing’s assertions to the contrary.

China went to the WTO in 2012 to challenge US anti-subsidy tariffs on Chinese exports including solar panels, wind turbines, steel cylinders and aluminium extrusions.The White House said US President Donald Trump will announce tariffs on Chinese imports aimed at curbing theft of US technology that is likely to trigger retaliation from Beijing and stoke fears of a global trade war.

There was no indication of the size and the scope of the tariffs, which US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Wednesday would target China’s high technology sector and which could also include restrictions on Chinese investments in the United States. Other sectors like apparel could also be hit.