When China joined the WTO in 2001, it agreed to let WTO members
treat it as a non-market economy when assessing dumping duties
for 15 years. That gave trade partners the advantage of using a
third country's prices to gauge whether China was selling its
goods below market value.
But that clause is due to expire on Dec. 11, and China has
demanded that countries abide by the agreement.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said in November the time
was "not ripe" for the United States to change the way it
evaluates whether China has achieved market economy status, and
there was no international trade rules requiring changes in the
way U.S. anti-dumping duties are calculated.
Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang said the United
States should stop using its own market economy evaluations to
deny China's "rights".
"It's a right that China must enjoy as a WTO member and an
obligation that all WTO countries must fulfill," Shen told
reporters during a regular briefing.
"China advises the United States to stop mixing things and
escaping its international obligations. China calls for the
United States to fully comply with the rule in a timely manner,
and push for healthy development of China-U.S. trade relations."
The United States has repeatedly argued that China's market
reforms have fallen short of expectations, especially in
aluminum and steel where state intervention has led to
oversupply and overcapacity, threatening industries around the
world.
(Reporting by Yawen Chen and Michael Martina; Editing by Robert
Birsel)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
![](column_spacer.png) |
|