In this week's Trade Policy Review (TPR) of China, the United States attacked what it says is a systemic web of secrecy shrouding Chinese trade and investment policies, which are characterized by massive subsidies programs and discriminatory measures meant to favor domestic industries. This secrecy is maintained by China's refusal to meet the transparency obligations it took on when it joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, according to the U.S. This includes the commitment to make available in one or more WTO languages all regulations, laws and other measures affecting the trade in goods, services, trade-related intellectual property rights or control of foreign exchange. "China still has not taken any steps to put in place procedures for undertaking and making available the required translations, even as it has become the WTO's largest trader [in 2013]," the U.S. said in its statement to the TPR body. China is also violating its WTO obligations through its failure to adhere to the notification requirements it took on as a member of the WTO, which apply to both agricultural and industrial subsidies, the U.S. charged. To back up its complaint, the U.S. statement repeatedly highlighted the fact the WTO secretariat found it hard to secure the information necessary to review China's trade and investment regime, a fact that is reflected in the report the WTO prepared.
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