The World Trade Organization (WTO) authorizes China to impose retaliatory tariffs on US products of more than 3.5 million dollars a year.
In its ruling, the WTO has determined Friday that China can request an authorization from the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), whose next meeting will be on November 22, to apply tariffs on imports from the United States for an annual value of 3,579 million of dollars.
The amount in question represents “the level of nullification or impairment of the benefits to China,” as a result of the restrictive measures of the United States, the judgment indicates.
It is the first time that the WTO authorizes the Asian giant to sanction US products. Beijing had requested an amount of possible reprisals of $ 7,043 million annually for losses to Chinese exporters.
The United States can no longer appeal this decision; and China can, for its part, fully or partially apply the authorized million dollar amount.
The litigation dates back to December 2013, when China filed a lawsuit with the WTO, after the U.S. set a rebound in tariffs on solar panels, steel and aluminum products, furniture and other exports of the Asian giant.
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Washington and Beijing have been waging a trade war since June 2018, when US President Donald Trump announced the application of tariffs on 50 billion dollars in Chinese products with the aim of balancing a negative trade balance for the North American country.
China, on the other hand, has not kept its arms folded and has imposed additional tariffs on some products from the United States, including oil.
The Chinese government blames the US for the stagnation of negotiations with Beijing, which seeks to end the trade war that is hurting the world and also the US economy itself.
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Featured image: Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) and US President Donald Trump attend their meeting in Osaka, June 29, 2019. (Photo: AFP)
Translated by JRE/EF
