Geneva, Switzerland —
World Trade Organization (WTO) experts ruled Wednesday that tariffs imposed by China on billions of dollars worth of US imports, in retaliation for steel and aluminum tariffs from the US, violated international trade rules.
A WTO panel set up to help resolve one of the many disputes in the back-and-forth trade war between the world’s two largest economies found that “China’s additional customs measures are inconsistent” with various articles of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
Washington applauded the decision, and a spokesman for the US trade representative, Sam Michel, said it acknowledged that China “retaliated unlawfully, with ‘deceptive’ tariffs.”
The case revolves around China’s decision in April 2018 to impose tariffs on 128 types of US imports, worth $3 billion, including fruit and pork.
The move came shortly after the administration of former US President Donald Trump announced high tariffs on steel and aluminum imports against China and a number of other countries.
Marking a departure from the decades-long US-led push for free trade, Trump justified the high tariffs with claims that the massive flow of imports into the United States threatens national security.
His replacement government, President Joe Biden, was less aggressive but continued to impose tariffs. (ps/lt)
