China’s Ministry of Commerce released a new report on Thursday criticizing the United States for its continued non-compliance with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and obligations over the past year. The report accuses the U.S. of generalizing national security concerns and politicizing and weaponizing economic and trade issues under the guise of so-called “de-risking.”
Based on an earlier report released in August 2023, the latest document expresses ongoing concerns over U.S. policy measures that undermine multilateral trading rules, impose unilateral sanctions, manipulate double standards in industrial policies, and disrupt global industrial and supply chains.
“The U.S. has continuously escalated unilateral sanctions, frequently implemented discriminatory measures, and continued to raise tariff barriers, posing severe challenges to the multilateral trading system and seriously undermining the common interests of WTO members,” the report states.
Noting that the WTO has ruled that U.S. Section 301 tariffs violate WTO rules, the report says the U.S. “ignores the authority of the WTO and puts its domestic laws above WTO rules.” Instead of canceling the illegal measures, the U.S. has increased Section 301 tariffs on products imported from China and launched new investigations, exposing its nature as a “destroyer of the multilateral trading system,” according to the Ministry.
The report further criticizes the U.S. for unreasonably suppressing companies of other countries under the guise of “national security” and imposing unilateral sanctions and “long-arm jurisdiction” on normal economic and trade exchanges. Such actions are described as typical of a “perpetrator of unilateralist bullying.”
While accusing China of “overcapacity,” the U.S. has implemented exclusive and discriminatory subsidy and support policies, and used foreign investment security reviews, restrictions, export control lists, and other means to suppress the development of industries in other countries, the report says. It calls the U.S. a practitioner of double standards in industrial policy.
The Ministry of Commerce urged the U.S. to immediately correct its wrongdoing, abide by WTO rules, honor its commitments, and return to an open, fair, transparent, inclusive, and non-discriminatory rules-based multilateral trading system.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
