The WTO on Tuesday upheld a complaint by China over additional US duties on about US$250 billion of Chinese goods, a decision that sparked outrage in Washington.
The Geneva-based body has been caught in the middle of trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, and has faced relentless attacks from US President Donald Trump.
The tariffs, imposed in 2018, marked the beginning of the trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies, but a panel of experts — set up last year by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body to review the US move — ruled that the tariffs on Chinese goods were “inconsistent” with global trade rules and recommended that the US “bring its measures into conformity with its obligations.”
Photo: AFP
The decision was met with ire in Washington, with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer saying that it proved the WTO “is completely inadequate to stop China’s harmful technology practices.”
“The Trump administration will not let China use the WTO to take advantage of American workers, businesses, farmers and ranchers,” he said.
Beijing welcomed the move as an “objective and fair ruling.”
“China also hopes that the United States will fully respect the rulings of the expert group ... take practical actions to meet China and other WTO members half way, jointly maintain the multilateral trading system, and promote the stable and healthy development of the world economy,” a Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman said.
In a 72-page report, the panel said that Washington had “not met its burden of demonstrating that its measures were provisionally justified” under international trade rules.
In particular, it rejected the US argument that the tariffs were applied to products it said had benefited from practices that the US considers are contrary to “public morals,” such as theft, misappropriation and unfair competition.
“The United States had not met its burden of demonstrating how its restrictions contributed to protecting its public morals and did not extend beyond what was necessary,” the report said.
Lightizer said in response that the US report had cited thousands of pieces of evidence showing China’s unfair trade practices, which “have cost US innovators, workers and businesses billions of dollars every year.”
He said the WTO ruling showed that it “provides no remedy for such misconduct.”
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
RSS