USTR: Victory In WTO GOES Case Sends Message To China On Retaliation

摘要

A World Trade Organization panel report released on June 15 handed the U.S. a decisive victory in its challenge of antidumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVDs) that China had imposed on specialty steel exports from the United States, known as grain-oriented flat-rolled electrical steel (GOES). Officials in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, speaking to reporters about the case, stressed that the victory at the panel stage is important not only for commercial reasons, but also because it helps to send a clear signal to China that it must abide by its WTO obligations, and cannot use trade remedies as a retaliatory tool. At issue is the fact that China appears to be using trade remedies as a way to retaliate against other WTO members, including the U.S., when those members take enforcement measures against China. Many observers believe China is acting in this way in order to deter other WTO members from pursuing future enforcement measures.