Archive for ‘WTO’

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01/03/2019

China’s commerce ministry comments on WTO report on U.S. complaint about agricultural subsidies

BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) — An official with China’s Ministry of Commerce on Friday commented on a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel report regarding the complaint from the United States about Chinese agricultural subsidies.

The WTO panel report, released Thursday Geneva time, ruled against the United States in terms of China’s corn subsidy policies. “The Chinese side welcomes this [ruling],” the unidentified official said.

China regrets that the panel did not support China’s proposition on calculating the subsidy levels in its minimum procurement price policies for wheat and rice, the official said.

Agriculture is a basic industry that concerns the national economy and people’s wellbeing. It is a common practice for governments to support agriculture, ensure farmers’ incomes and safeguard grain security, and such practices are allowed under WTO rules.

China consistently respects WTO rules and will seriously evaluate the panel report and properly handle the case following WTO dispute settlement procedure, safeguard the stability of the multilateral trade mechanism and continue to push ahead with its agricultural development in lines with WTO rules, the official said.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in agricultural subsidies, agriculture, China alert, Commerce Ministry, farmers' incomes, Geneva, grain security, national economy, people's wellbeing, procurement price policies, U.S. complaint, Uncategorized, wheat and rice, WTO | Leave a Comment »

31/10/2016

The Economist explains: Why some Indians want to boycott Chinese goods | The Economist

ON OCTOBER 30th India celebrates Diwali, the most important festival in the Hindu calendar. Over five days, millions of lamps and candles will be placed on doorsteps and rooftops; prayers will be offered to Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity; and fireworks will go off in the skies over the streets of nearly every town and village. A festival that celebrates the victory of light over darkness, Diwali has in recent years brightened the mood of Chinese exporters as well: many Indian households favour cheaper, electric decorations made in China over the traditional earthen diyas (pictured).

But this year’s edition could take a dark turn. The country’s noisy social media are cluttered with posts calling for Indians to shun Chinese goods. A fake letter championing the boycott, ostensibly signed Narendra Modi, the prime minister, has gone viral. Politicians from India’s ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have endorsed the cause. What is going on?

The economic roots of the boycott are not new. China is India’s largest trading partner, with $71bn worth of goods exchanged between them in the past financial year. But China is also the nation with which India has its largest trade deficit, an imbalance that rose 9% to $53bn in 2015-2016. In contrast, China’s trade surplus with America reached $367bn in 2015. What the deficit is made of matters most. China’s light-industry goods compete directly and with overwhelming success against India’s small industries, the lifeline of its manufacturing sector and a reservoir of jobs. So India exports mostly raw materials to its neighbour. That has the government worried: of the 572 anti-dumping measures India took between 1995 and 2015, 146 were aimed at Chinese-made goods. The “Make in India” campaign, which has been championed by Mr Modi and sees foreign investment as crucial to boosting his country’s manufacturing power, has been careful not to advocate protectionism. Yet in a country where economic boycotts were first popularised as a non-violent strategy to combat British rule, such appeals carry emotional and historical heft. Geopolitics provided the spark for the current call. India has long been trying to get Masood Azhar, the boss of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), a Pakistan-based jihadist group, listed as a terrorist by the United Nations. India suspects JeM of carrying out the January attack on an air-force base in Punjab, which killed eight Indians, including one civilian. JeM is also the alleged perpetrator of last month’s massacre at the Kashmiri garrison of Uri, in which 19 soldiers were killed (though another group claimed responsiblity). Yet twice this year, China used its Security Council veto to block Mr Azhar’s addition to the UN sanctions list. The move underscored Beijing’s all-weather support for the Pakistani establishment, elements of which India suspects of harbouring Mr Azhar. Some Indians don’t understand why they should have to trade with a nation working against their interests. This perception of China was compounded by its decision in June to oppose India’s accession to the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a 48-nation body that governs the global nuclear trade.

Yet calls for a boycott of Chinese-made goods are unlikely to have much effect. Both India and China are members of the World Trade Organisation, which forbids arbitrary bans on foreign goods. India’s commerce minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, recognised as much earlier this month when she said blocking imports was not a feasible option. A BJP leader deleted his tweets, blaming staff for the text; the opposition is silent on the issue. Nor is the wider business community likely to embrace the cause. Traders and industrialists, who have come to rely heavily on Chinese-made merchandise and machinery, form powerful lobbies. Yet with Mr Modi’s government promoting an increasingly assertive brand of nationalism, anger over China’s snubs will not easily go away. Expect further diplomatic fireworks.

Source: The Economist explains: Why some Indians want to boycott Chinese goods | The Economist

Posted in China alert, Chindia Alert, Economics, exports, free trade, Import, India alert, WTO | 1 Comment »

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13/11/2014

US, India end impasse that threatened WTO pact – Businessweek

The United States and India said Thursday they reached agreement on stockpiling of food by governments, clearing a major stumbling block to a deal to boost world trade.

India had insisted on its right to subsidize grains under a national policy to feed its many poor, while the U.S. and others in the World Trade Organization were more focused on liberalizing agricultural trade.

The two countries did not announce details of their new deal, which will be reviewed by the WTO’s general council.

Both countries said, however, their agreement should clear the way for immediate implementation of a global deal that’s designed to increase trade by reducing customs red tape.

“We are extremely happy that India and the U.S. have successfully resolved their differences related to the issue of public stockholding for food security purposes,” the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement.

The WTO has said the Trade Facilitation Agreement could boost global trade by $1 trillion, but the possibility of failure in the negotiations had threatened to render the WTO irrelevant as a forum for negotiations after a decade of inertia in trade talks.

via US, India end impasse that threatened WTO pact – Businessweek.

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16/01/2013

* China trade surplus with U.S. may be a quarter smaller

“Lies, lies and statistics”!

Or as in Through the Looking Glass: 

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.”

“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”

Reuters: “The new estimate is one of the key findings of an ambitious project by the OECD think-tank and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to present a truer picture of underlying trade flows in an age of global supply chains when intermediate inputs can cross borders several times during the manufacturing process.

A man walks in a shipping container area at the Port of Shanghai April 10, 2012. REUTERS/Aly Song

The political purpose of the exercise is to reduce protectionist pressure by demonstrating that governments are shooting themselves in the foot if they raise barriers to imports because, in doing so, they are also hurting their own exporters and competitiveness.

Angel Gurria, secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), said the value-added approach challenged the conventional wisdom regarding trade.

“Today, we have to think about goods and services as ‘made in the world’, Gurria said.”

via China trade surplus with U.S. may be a quarter smaller | Reuters.

Posted in China alert, Economics, exports, free trade, WTO | 1 Comment »

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17/09/2012

* China files WTO complaint against U.S. CVDs

Xinhua: “China on Monday requested to negotiate with the U.S. over countervailing duties (CVDs) levied by it against Chinese tyres within the trade dispute settlement mechanism of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

“Through consultations within the WTO trade dispute settlement mechanism, the Chinese side hopes the U.S. can correct its wrong-doing and properly deal with concerns from China,” said Shen Danyang, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).

In a statement on MOC’s website, Shen said China has reiterated its stance on different occasions that it resolutely opposes the abuse of trade remedy rules or trade protectionism. He added that China will exercise its rights as a WTO member to protect the legitimate interests of domestic industries.

China’s request for consultation came after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit passed a so-called GPX bill earlier this year to authorize the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) to apply CVDs to “non-market economy” countries.

The bill, a remedy for the Tariff Act of 1930, overturned a previous federal court ruling that the U.S. DOC did not have legal authority to impose CVDs on goods from non-market economy countries and gives an application retroactive period since Nov. 20, 2006.

Shen said the U.S. has for many years kept launching countervailing probes against Chinese products without legal support of U.S. laws.

The GPX bill will place Chinese enterprises under an uncertain legal environment and violates WTO rules on transparency and procedural justice, Shen said.

According to the MOC, the trade dispute on tyres involves 24 types of tyre products worth about 7.23 billion U.S. dollars.”

via China files WTO complaint against U.S. CVDs – Xinhua | English.news.cn.

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17/09/2012

* China, EU face dumping claim

China Daily: “Beijing said Brussels has agreed to begin dialogue and cooperation to resolve the multi-billion-dollar anti-dumping investigation towards China’s solar panel manufacturers.

But Brussels refused to go into details of such a stance, revealed by Chong Quan, China’s deputy representative for international trade talks, after three-hour intensive talks with senior officials of European Commission on Friday afternoon.

“They (Brussels) agreed (to hold dialogues) – and I found they are very candid and pragmatic,” Chong told China Daily. “I respect my negotiation partner.”

But when asked how strong Brussels’ intention is, Chong said: “I don’t know.”

Brussels was part of Chong’s three-stop mission to send a clear message from Beijing, which wants to solve this dispute through “consultation, dialogues and cooperation.” Before holding talking with Jean-Luc Demarty, the European Commission’s director general for trade, he was negotiating in Germany and has now moved on to talks in France.

EU trade spokesperson John Clancy refused to elaborate about the three-hour discussion in Brussels. Clancy said the European Commission has begun an “open” anti-dumping investigation on China’s solar panel exports, as it is required to do under the WTO framework and EU law.

He said input “from all stakeholders” is now welcome.

Clancy also confirmed that EU and Chinese trade officials discussed preparations for next week’s EU-China summit in Brussels.

Chong confirmed that China’s Minister of Commerce Chen Deming will be in Premier Wen Jiabao’s delegation that will attend the summit during a one-day visit to Belgium.

Wen and Chen are expected to urge Brussels to negotiate. Chong said both sides are eager to resolve this dispute through dialogue and both sides need to make every effort to avoid a trade war.

In the face of a severe economic slowdown and the magnitude of this dispute, Chong said: “Both of us will become losers if a trade war occurs and the situation is out of control.””

via China, EU face dumping claim |Economy |chinadaily.com.cn.

Posted in Anti-dumping, China alert, Economics, WTO | Leave a Comment »

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