American tariffs on Chinese goods are in conflict with the rules, the World Trade Organization – ČT24 – Czech Television decided

This is the first WTO decision against tariffs that the Trump administration has imposed on a number of countries, including allies, in recent years, the AP agency writes. In its decision, the organization opposed the Trump administration’s argument that China was involved in practices that harmed US interests.

Trump has repeatedly accused the WTO of being unfair to the United States. The WTO ruling theoretically allows China to impose retaliatory tariffs on American goods. But before that, the United States can appeal against the decision.

However, the WTO appellate body is now dysfunctional because Washington is blocking the appointment of its new members.

How China reacted and how the USA reacted

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce called the WTO decision “objective and fair.” It called on the United States to respect this decision.

Washington was critical of the WTO ruling. “The report (WTO) confirms what the Trump administration has been saying for four years: the WTO is completely incapable of stopping China’s harmful practices,” said US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. He added that the US had provided “extensive evidence” of Chinese intellectual property theft and that the WTO had not come up with a solution.

“The United States must be allowed to defend itself against unfair trade practices,” Lighthizer said. “The Trump administration will not allow China to use the WTO to gain benefits at the expense of American workers, businesses and farmers,” he said.

When there was still hope for peace

Beijing and Washington announced in mid-December that they had reached the first stage of a trade agreement. So far, it is the biggest step in resolving the customs war between the world’s two largest economies, which has disrupted financial markets and slowed global economic growth in recent years.

In mid-January, the sub-agreement was officially signed in Washington by US President Trump and Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Liu Che. Later, however, relations between the two countries became more complicated again, partly due to coronavirus, developments in Hong Kong and new US measures against Chinese technology companies.

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China and the United States have been waging this trade war since the spring of 2018, when US President Donald Trump signed a decree imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on March 8, granting an exemption to Canada and Mexico. It set customs duties on steel imports at 25 percent and customs duties on aluminum imports at ten.

Two weeks later, Trump signed a decree imposing tariffs on some other goods from China. It then also responded by imposing tariffs on some goods from the United States. Then began a spiral of American tariffs on other goods and similar Chinese countermeasures.

At the same time, on August 23, 2018, China filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization against import duties imposed on Chinese goods.

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