U.S. Violated Trade Rules With Tariffs on China, WTO Says
By Bryce Baschuk (Bloomberg) — The World Trade Organization undercut the main justification for President Donald Trump’s trade war against China, saying that American tariffs on Chinese goods violate international rules.
A panel of three WTO trade experts on Tuesday said the U.S. broke global regulations when it imposed tariffs on Chinese goods in 2018. Washington has imposed levies on $400 billion in Chinese exports.
The panel said in its report “that the United States had not met its burden of demonstrating that the measures are provisionally justified.”
While the ruling bolsters Beijing’s claims, Washington can effectively veto the decision by lodging an appeal at any point in the next 60 days. That’s because the Trump administration has already paralyzed the WTO’s appellate body, a tactic that has rendered toothless the world’s foremost arbiter of trade.
“Although the panel did not dispute the extensive evidence submitted by the United States of intellectual property theft by China, its decision shows that the WTO provides no remedy for such misconduct,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement. He added that the report has no effect on the phase-one agreement between the nations.
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