The U.S. Challenges China on Duties Imposed on Automobiles

It is reported that on July 5, just as China imposed anti-subsidy and anti-dumping duties on some automobiles imported from the US, the US called for negotiations with the WTO under an international trade dispute resolution mechanism.

Last December, the Ministry of Commerce announced that it will impose two year anti subsidy and anti-dumping taxes on passenger cars and SUVs with displacement of more than 2.5 liters until December 2013.

According to WTO rules, negotiations are a first step to deal with disputes and plaintiffs have the right to ask the WTO to form a dispute resolution expert team should the two parties failed to reach a conclusion during the negotiations stage.

According to the Office of the United States Trade Representatives, the US exported more than USD 3 billion worth of such vehicles to China last year. The US also said that the duties covered 80% of its vehicle exports to China.