WTO rules U.S. imposes tariffs on steel and aluminum products from China and other parties in violation of regulations

The WTO ruled that the U.S. imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum products from China and other parties in violation of regulations, and the U.S. rejected it arbitrarily
Global Times Special Correspondent in Germany Yu Wen On December 9, Geneva, the World Trade Organization (WTO) issued a report of an expert group, ruling that the United States imported steel and aluminum products from China and other countries and regions in 2018 The measure of imposing additional tariffs violates relevant WTO regulations, and the defense of the United States citing the WTO’s “safety exception clause” is rejected. That’s four years and nine months since the U.S. imposed those tariffs. Due to the complexity of the case and the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, this ruling has been postponed several times and it did not come easily. China is one of the parties to the complaint. A spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce said on the 10th that China appreciates the objective and fair ruling made by the expert group. China hopes that the US will respect the panel’s ruling and WTO rules, correct the violations as soon as possible, and work with China and other WTO members to jointly safeguard the multilateral trading system. However, a spokesperson for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a statement on the 9th stating that it “strongly disagrees” with the “erroneous interpretations and conclusions” of the WTO expert group, and that the Biden administration will not cancel these tariffs. The Chinese experts interviewed by the Global Times reporter on the 11th all said that the rejection of the United States was expected. Historically, the United States has often refused to accept and correct WTO rulings against itself. “Everyone knows that this is obvious protectionism,” an American expert told the Associated Press.