September 3, 2019

Andrew Campbell 

With the United States’ newest tariffs policy over China applied on September 1st, China filed a lawsuit at the World Trade Organization against the United States on the next day. The new round tit-for-tat duties just started. The United States raised 15% tariffs on imported commodities over China, while China imposed new duties on crude oil over the United States. 

According to lawsuits from China’s Commerce Ministry, about $300 billion of China’s exports are affected by the tariffs, including watches, nappies, and shoes. China Commerce Ministry pointed out that the new tariff was against the agreement in Osaka meeting. It was the third time that China filed case to the U.S. President for China-specific tariffs at the WTO.

Although China brought the tariff lawsuit to the U.S., it brought the new duties on U.S. commodities as well, which was denounced by the U.S. On the other hand, U.S. officials said that the tariff on China was to defeat the arbitrary technology-transfer policies. WTO’s rule allows the U.S. to bring a dispute over China’s complaint in 60 days, which might take years to adjudicate.

Photo:Webshot.