Nation plans second request for WTO panel on EU duties

China will soon submit another request that the WTO establish an expert panel to investigate trade discrimination by the EU, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce ( MOFCOM) said Thursday.

The EU on Tuesday opposed the initial request by China, which on March 9 asked the WTO to set up an expert panel to examine the “surrogate country” approach used by the EU to calculate anti- dumping measures applied to Chinese exports.

A “surrogate country” system judges the price of Chinese goods against a third country’s to determine whether China is selling its products below market prices.

The WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body ( DSB) considered China’s request for the first time at a meeting on Tuesday, when the EU opposed China’s motion.

“The EU has a right to oppose the establishment of an expert panel as it was first discussed during the DSB meeting. This type of response is the usual reaction adopted by parties involved in a dispute,” Sun Jiwen, MOFCOM spokesman said at the Thursday press conference.

“However, an expert panel will be set up by default when China makes its second request, and China will file this request again soon,” Sun said.

When China joined the WTO in 2001, it was written into the terms of the deal that member states could choose to treat it as a non- market economy for 15 years.

The deadline passed last year, but the EU has nevertheless opted to preserve tough rules on imports from China.