The Chinese Commerce Ministry has issued a statement urging the U.S. to take steps to put trade between the U.S. and China on normal footing.
Photo:
Costfoto/Zuma Press
China’s Ministry of Commerce said Monday it had filed a complaint against the U.S. at the World Trade Organization in response to new controls from Washington on semiconductor trade with China, describing the action as a response to trade protectionism.
Beijing will use the WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism to challenge U.S. export controls on products such as chips to China to defend its rights and interests, its Ministry of Commerce said in a statement posted to its website. The ministry said it was responding to a media question in making the announcement.
The rules being challenged require U.S. chip makers to obtain a license from the Commerce Department to export certain chips used in advanced artificial-intelligence calculations and supercomputing.
Biden administration officials have said that the rules are needed to prevent China from building up its military and developing new, state-of-the-art weaponry.
In its statement, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said that in recent years the U.S. has expanded its concept of national security, abused export-control measures, hindered the normal international trade of semiconductors and other products, threatened the stability of the global industrial supply chain and taken other steps that disrupt the international economy. It said the U.S. actions violate international trade rules and laws, harming global peace and that the U.S. has conflated economic development and trade protectionism with its activity.
The statement urged the U.S. to abandon what it called zero-sum thinking and correct its mistakes in a timely manner and otherwise take steps to put trade between the countries on a normal footing and add stability to international supply chains.
A spokesman for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The filing of the new complaint follows a ruling by WTO panels last week that the U.S. violated international trade rules with its tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. The case relates to the import duties former President
Donald Trump
imposed in 2018 on national-security grounds, citing the need to protect domestic manufacturers from a global glut of metals caused by China.
The complaint was initially filed by China, but friendly nations such as Switzerland and Norway are among the complainants. The U.S. said it strongly rejected the panels’ “flawed interpretation and conclusions,” and hinted it would appeal the decision. The U.S. also said the WTO panel have no authority to review national security issues.
WTO member countries have been stepping up discussions to overhaul the group’s dispute-settlement system, but their positions remain far apart.
Write to Yuka Hayashi at Yuka.Hayashi@wsj.com and James T. Areddy at James.Areddy@wsj.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the December 13, 2022, print edition as ‘China Files WTO Complaint Over U.S. Chip Controls.’
The Chinese Commerce Ministry has issued a statement urging the U.S. to take steps to put trade between the U.S. and China on normal footing.
Photo:
Costfoto/Zuma Press
China’s Ministry of Commerce said Monday it had filed a complaint against the U.S. at the World Trade Organization in response to new controls from Washington on semiconductor trade with China, describing the action as a response to trade protectionism.
Beijing will use the WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism to challenge U.S. export controls on products such as chips to China to defend its rights and interests, its Ministry of Commerce said in a statement posted to its website. The ministry said it was responding to a media question in making the announcement.
The rules being challenged require U.S. chip makers to obtain a license from the Commerce Department to export certain chips used in advanced artificial-intelligence calculations and supercomputing.
Biden administration officials have said that the rules are needed to prevent China from building up its military and developing new, state-of-the-art weaponry.
In its statement, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said that in recent years the U.S. has expanded its concept of national security, abused export-control measures, hindered the normal international trade of semiconductors and other products, threatened the stability of the global industrial supply chain and taken other steps that disrupt the international economy. It said the U.S. actions violate international trade rules and laws, harming global peace and that the U.S. has conflated economic development and trade protectionism with its activity.
The statement urged the U.S. to abandon what it called zero-sum thinking and correct its mistakes in a timely manner and otherwise take steps to put trade between the countries on a normal footing and add stability to international supply chains.
A spokesman for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The filing of the new complaint follows a ruling by WTO panels last week that the U.S. violated international trade rules with its tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. The case relates to the import duties former President
Donald Trump
imposed in 2018 on national-security grounds, citing the need to protect domestic manufacturers from a global glut of metals caused by China.
The complaint was initially filed by China, but friendly nations such as Switzerland and Norway are among the complainants. The U.S. said it strongly rejected the panels’ “flawed interpretation and conclusions,” and hinted it would appeal the decision. The U.S. also said the WTO panel have no authority to review national security issues.
WTO member countries have been stepping up discussions to overhaul the group’s dispute-settlement system, but their positions remain far apart.
Write to Yuka Hayashi at Yuka.Hayashi@wsj.com and James T. Areddy at James.Areddy@wsj.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the December 13, 2022, print edition as ‘China Files WTO Complaint Over U.S. Chip Controls.’