China Cries Foul on Trump Tariffs at WTO

(GENEVA, SWITZERLAND) China has requested World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute consultations with the United States concerning additional duties imposed on imports of Chinese goods that took effect on September 1st. The request was circulated to WTO members on Wednesday. According to Reuters, China did not release details of its legal case but said the U.S. tariffs affected $300 billion of Chinese exports. The lawsuit is the third Beijing has brought to challenge U.S. President Donald Trump’s China-specific tariffs. U.S. officials say that they are penalizing China for theft of intellectual property that is not covered by WTO rules, although many trade experts say that any tariff hike above the allowed maximum must be justified at the WTO. On Friday the United States published a written defense in the first of the three legal cases, asserting that China and the United States agreed the issue should not be judged at the WTO because the actions were exempt since they were “measures necessary to protect public morals” – a clause used in the past to argue for trade restrictions over gambling, animal rights, and public broadcasting.