WTO Upholds Annual $3.6 Billion Penalty Against China

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The United States is claiming a major victory against China following a $3.58 billion annual settlement award from a World Trade Organization (WTO) arbitrator. The announcement comes as the two countries are tangled in a trade war. In March of 2013, China notified the WTO of a request for consultations with the U.S. regarding the use of anti-dumping measures involving Chinese products. The Commerce Department set anti-dumping duties ranging from 18.3 percent to 250 percent on solar-energy cells imports in what some analysts believe to be the start of the trade war. The initial claim by the U.S. was at the heart of China’s agreements in joining the WTO. U.S. officials, however, said the Chinese failed to live up their expectations. The ruling from the WTO gives the U.S. a green light for full retaliation against steel and aluminum products from China, as well as furniture, solar panels, shrimp, tires and washing machines.