US ‘putting its law above WTO’
Rejection of China’s market economy status unfair: MOFCOM
By rejecting China’s market economy status, the US is putting its own domestic law above international rules, a Chinese trade official said Thursday, adding that China expects WTO members to comprehensively carry out their obligations and safeguard the multilateral trade system.
The comment came after the US submitted a statement regarding China’s “non-market economy” status to the WTO on November 30.
The US move “puts its domestic law above international law,” Gao Feng, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), said at a regular press conference held in Beijing.
“The WTO rules make up the legal system that all members should comply with, and we hope that the US’ conduct is not reflective of global ignorance of the rules,” Gao said.
China has appealed to the WTO over the US’ rejection of China’s market economy status and expects all members of the world body to fulfill their related international obligations as stipulated in Article 15 on China’s WTO membership, he said.
According to Article 15 of the accession protocol signed when China joined the WTO in 2001, the analogue country method was to expire on December 11, 2016.
Under the analogue country method, when dealing with non-market economies WTO members can use prices in third countries as a basis for judging whether goods are being exported below cost to gain an unfair advantage. It allows foreign countries and regions to impose high tariffs easily in trade disputes.
A hearing about China’s appeal against the EU’s insistence on employing the analogue country method in anti-dumping probes against China was held on Wednesday under the WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism, according to Gao.
“We have no idea why the US, which is not involved in the case, released such information before the hearing,” the spokesman said, adding that China hopes for a “fair judgment on the basis of international rules.”
The US move is not surprising as the country judges China’s economy based on its own standards, Xu Hongcai, deputy chief economist at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, told the Global Times.
Gao Liankui, a member of the Advisory Board of the Royal East and West Strategy Institute at Oxford University, agreed, saying that US President Donald Trump is more likely to focus on domestic interests while ignoring the rules and outcomes reached by the world in previous years.
China is isolated in the world market because other developed economies including the EU and Japan have also expressed their rejection of China’s market economy status, Xu noted.
Rising concerns
On November 28, the US announced new self-initiated anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations into imports of common alloy aluminum sheets from China. It was the first trade measure of this kind to be launched in over a quarter of a century.
Also, the US Commerce Department on Tuesday slapped steep import duties on steel products from Vietnam that originated in China after finding they evaded US anti-dumping and antisubsidy orders.
“The US’ recent launch of trade remedy probes against China-made products is a negative sign and has caused concerns among both Chinese and US companies, especially those US companies that want to expand their presence in the Chinese market,” noted Gao, the MOFCOM spokesman.
“Trade protection is just a way of seeking temporary relief, regardless of the consequences, while being open and pursuing cooperation can increase mutual benefits,” said Gao.
“A large-scale trade war between China and the US is unlikely because it would cause harm for both countries, but bilateral trade friction will continue,” noted Xu, adding that China should appeal to the WTO over unfair treatment, while sticking to a strategy of opening-up and advancing the liberalization and facilitation of global trade and investment.
Gao, the expert, told the Global Times on Thursday that the US trade remedy measures against China are quite strict and Trump’s harsh attitude toward trade might be intended to shift public attention in the US away from the fact that he has not been able to deliver big achievements in domestic reform since taking office.
China and the US should engage in talks and negotiation in order to address trade friction, MOFCOM noted.
“Trade protection is just a way of seeking temporary relief, regardless of the consequences, while being open and pursuing cooperation can increase mutual benefits.” Gao Feng MOFCOM spokesman