China on Tuesday asked the WTO to create an expert panel to examine the so-called “surrogate country” approach used by the EU to calculate anti-dumping measures applied to Chinese exports.
When China joined the WTO in 2001, it was written into the terms of the deal that member states could treat it as a non-market economy for 15 years.
The deadline passed late last year, but the EU has nevertheless opted to preserve tough rules that protect it from cheap Chinese products flooding its markets.
China on Tuesday asked the WTO to establish a panel to rule on its demand that the EU stop using a “surrogate country” system — judging the price of Chinese goods against a third country’s — to determine whether China is selling its products below market prices.
“China is disappointed that it needs to seek action by the DSB [Dispute Settlement Body] in order for the European Union to remedy the obvious and egregious WTO-inconsistency of its measures,” China’s representative to the global trade body said.
Beijing has said previously that the refusal to grant China market economy status is an example of “covert protectionism” and “double standards” by the West.
The request to the WTO came after China in December last year filed initial disputes against the EU and the US over the issue, which are being handled separately in the WTO system.
After the parties failed to reach an agreement during WTO-led consultations, the door was left open for China to ask the WTO to create a panel of experts to review the case.
Not surprisingly, the EU opposed the request.
In a statement to the DSB on Tuesday, the EU representative pointed out that the bloc was debating whether or not to change its categorization of China, and voiced regret over Beijing’s decision to push ahead and demand a panel.
“We think it is inappropriate use of the already strained resources of the WTO dispute settlement system,” the representative said.
“China’s request is ... manifestly premature and incapable as a matter of principle of being fruitful,” the statement said.
The EU “can only conclude that China’s objective is, in fact, to attempt to interfere in the internal legislative process of the European Union,” it said.
“This should be a matter of grave concern to all members,” it added.
AEGIS Europe, an alliance of nearly 30 European manufacturing associations, also criticized Tuesday’s move, urging Brussels to stand up to what it called Beijing’s “divide and conquer” trade strategy.
“China’s trade strategy is simply astounding, it is like Lance Armstrong suing the Tour de France to reinstate his medals, even though he is a proven doping cheat,” AEGIS spokesman Milan Nitzschke said in a statement.
The EU’s opposition blocks the creation of the panel for now, but under WTO rules, if China makes a second request it will automatically go through.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last