Business / Economy

WTO rules against US 'double remedy'

By Li Jiabao (China Daily) Updated: 2014-03-28 08:45

The World Trade Organization on Thursday released the report of a panel that backed China's challenge of countervailing and anti-dumping measures taken by the United States against certain products from China.

However, the WTO didn't support China's claim that a US measure known as the GPX Act was inconsistent with WTO rules.

More than 20 types of Chinese exports, ranging from photovoltaic cells for the solar industry to pipes used in wells in the oil and natural gas industries, were involved in the investigations or reviews launched by the US between Nov 20, 2006, and March 13, 2012.

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"China welcomes the WTO's support of our claims. We urge the US to correct its misuse of trade remedy measures and guarantee a level playing field for Chinese enterprises," said Shen Danyang, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce.

He said China regretted that the international trade body found the GPX Act did not breach the WTO rules.

The act, an amendment to a 1930 trade law, authorizes the Commerce Department to initiate countervailing measures on nonmarket economy countries and retroactively ratify the legitimacy of previous probes.

"The ruling is a great victory for us in challenging the US misuse of trade remedy measures, even though the WTO ruling didn't fully support our claims. The US has to correct its unfair duties on Chinese exports," said Yang Guohua, deputy director-general of the department of treaties and laws at the Ministry of Commerce.

Chinese exports of more than $7.2 billion could ultimately be affected, according to the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing.

The panel report agreed with China on the US' failure to identify and avoid the double remedies in the investigations or reviews, and it found the US actions were inconsistent with WTO rules.

Double remedies arise when both anti-dumping and countervailing duties are being applied on a product, if the subsidies being targeted by the latter duties are also responsible in part for the dumping.

The report rejected China's claim regarding the GPX Act and held that act did not enhance the duties or added import burdens.