China’s bank technology restrictions and a draft antiterrorism law might run counter to the country’s international trade commitments, the US trade representative said in a report released on Wednesday.
The US trade office’s regular review of telecommunications trade continued the pressure over initiatives that have upset US industry groups and that the administration of US President Barack Obama has also raised at the highest level with Chinese counterparts.
Rules asking technology suppliers to Chinese banks to divulge source code, pushing China’s state-owned banks to buy technology from domestic vendors, “may raise substantive concerns” about China’s obligations under a range of WTO agreements, the report said.
The rules may also have been adopted without sticking to China’s commitments to provide adequate time for public comment on draft measures and to publish final measures, it said.
The draft counterterrorism law “has generated serious concerns among US stakeholders and may raise questions with respect to China’s obligations,” the report said.
A senior US Treasury official said on Monday, during a visit to Beijing by US Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew, that China had agreed to delay implementing the bank rules.
Industry groups have been cautious about the prospect of launching WTO action against China, which can take years.
The US trade office said it would continue to press for the bank rules to be suspended and urge China not to act on the draft counterterrorism law.
In a separate report, the office detailed a wide range of other trade barriers that US firms face in exporting, including to China, where issues range from increased tariffs on aircraft to foreign investment limits and a ban on US beef.
“China remains among the least transparent and predictable of the world’s major markets for agricultural products, largely because of uneven enforcement of regulations and selective intervention in the market by China’s regulatory authorities,” the US office said.
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