China seeks WTO backing for sanctions on U.S. over
dumping duties
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[September 11, 2018]
GENEVA (Reuters) - China will
ask the World Trade Organization (WTO) next week for permission to
impose sanctions on the United States, for Washington's non-compliance
with a ruling in a dispute over U.S. dumping duties, a meeting agenda
showed on Tuesday.
The request is likely to lead to years of legal wrangling over the case
for sanctions and the amount.
China initiated the dispute in 2013, complaining about U.S. dumping
duties on several industries including machinery and electronics, light
industry, metals and minerals, with an annual export value of up to $8.4
billion.
It won a WTO ruling in 2016, which was confirmed by an appeal last year.
The case concerned the U.S. Commerce Department’s way of calculating the
amount of "dumping" - Chinese exports that are priced to undercut
American-made goods on the U.S. market.
The U.S. calculation method, known as "zeroing", tended to increase the
level of U.S. anti-dumping duties on foreign producers and was
repeatedly ruled to be illegal in a series of trade disputes brought to
the WTO.
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A worker places U.S. and China flags near the Forbidden City ahead
of a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump to Beijing, in Beijing,
China November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj/File Photo
The string of U.S. defeats fueled U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign to
reform the WTO. Trump said last month the United States could withdraw from the
WTO if "they don't shape up".
China told the WTO last month that the deadline for the United States to comply
with the ruling expired on Aug. 22.
The WTO published an agenda on Tuesday for a meeting of its dispute settlement
body on Sept. 21, showing China planned to take the legal step of asking for
authorization for sanctions.
(Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by John Stonestreet and Mark Potter)
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