The World Trade Organization provided Beijing with a new tariff weapon against the US during a politically sensitive moment for the Biden administration – nearly a year in the trade war between the two largest economies.
On Wednesday, a panel of WTO arbitrators in Geneva said China could retaliate against annual US exports worth $645 million as part of a decades-old trade dispute over US anti-subsidy duties on Chinese goods. Is. The amount was far less than the $2.4 billion that China had initially requested the legal authority to target.
While $645 million pales in comparison to the tariffs China imposed on $110 billion worth of US goods during the Trump administration, it still provides Beijing with a new bottleneck to pressure President Joe Biden as he heads out of midterm elections. The first seeks to mitigate the headwinds of inflation.
The Biden administration could attempt to eliminate China’s World Trade Organization-authorized tariffs, but to do so it would have to revise US countervailing duties, which would increase competition for key US manufacturing sectors such as steel and aluminum.
Beijing can now request formal WTO authorization to retaliate against US goods and services, which could be granted as soon as next month.
A USTR spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
The controversy dates back to 2012, when China complained that the US imposed illegal countervailing duties on nearly a dozen Chinese imports, including thermal paper, pipes, citric acid, lawnmowers, kitchen shelving, magnesia bricks, print graphics, solar panels, wind towers . steel sink.
The WTO repeatedly ruled against the US in the dispute, and later found that Washington had failed to withdraw its illegal retaliatory duties in a timely manner.
Don’t miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint.
download
Our App Now!!
,