China opens dispute against U.S. at WTO over 'discriminatory subsidies'

[March 26, 2024]  GENEVA (Reuters) -China has initiated dispute settlement proceedings against the United States at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to safeguard its interests in the electric vehicle industry, the Chinese permanent mission to the WTO said on Tuesday. 

A logo is seen at the World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters before a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, October 5, 2022. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

China said it was contesting "discriminatory subsidies in nature" under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act it said resulted in the exclusion of goods from China and other WTO countries.

"Under the disguise of responding to climate change, reducing carbon emission and protecting environment, (these subsidies) are in fact contingent upon the purchase and use of goods from the United States, or imported from certain particular regions," the Chinese mission said.

In Beijing, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce said it urged Washington to "promptly correct discriminatory industrial policies, and maintain the stability of the global industrial and supply chains for new energy vehicles".

There was no immediate response from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in Washington to a request for comment. There was no immediate comment from the WTO.

(Reporting by Emma Farge, Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber in Geneva and Bernard Orr in Beijing; Editing by Alison Williams)

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