Xinhua on China's WTO complaint

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Trade complaints reflect China's maturity as WTO member 　
　By Xinhua writer Liu Guoyuan

GENEVA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- China took the initiative in two WTO disputes on Friday in a rare move reflecting the country's increasing maturity in its use of the global trade regulator to protect its interests.

China has asked the World Trade Organisation to probe a U.S. ban on Chinese poultry imports and has filed complaints about EU anti-dumping measures against Chinese fasteners.

CHINA'S LEGITIMATE RIGHT

The WTO's procedure for resolving disputes is vital for enforcing trade rules and ensuring smooth trade flow. Every WTO member has the right to initiate the procedure when it believes another member is violating an agreement or a commitment that it has made under the WTO, as a way of protecting its own trade interests and ensuring global trade rules are observed.

This is exactly the purpose of China filing WTO cases against the United States and the European Union.

According to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, the United State has completely banned the importation of poultry products from China since 2007 through its annual appropriation acts and other related measures.

"These unilateral measures fundamentally violate relevant WTO rules, significantly impede the ordinary China-U.S. trade in poultry products, and substantially impair the rights and benefits that Chinese enterprises deserve to enjoy," it said.

The ministry said the EU's anti-dumping measures "failed to comply with relevant WTO rules in the process, starting from initiation, investigation to the final determination," and they "infringe the legitimate commercial interests of over 1,700 Chinese fastener producers."

　　 A MATURING WTO MEMBER

Since joining the WTO in 2001, China has made earnest efforts to fulfill its pledges in opening its market and domestic reform and has won praise as a responsible WTO member.

And as a major trade power, it's natural that China gradually increases its influence in the world commerce body and plays a more mature role in the making and enforcing of WTO regulations.

China has been actively involved in the Doha Round of global trade talks, and recently it is making more use of the dispute settlement procedure to protect its interests, notably as a plaintiff. This shows its increasing confidence after the first few years in the WTO as a "learner."

China's stance is also seen as a counter to the rise of protectionism in the United States and Europe because of the financial and economic crisis.

"These measures are naked discriminative protectionism measures, which are strongly opposed by the Chinese government and enterprises," the Ministry of Commerce said of the U.S. poultry ban on Friday. "The government of China expects that the WTO panel would review this case in a fair and impartial manner to safeguard the ordinary development of international trade."

Meanwhile, the ministry pointed out that, over the past 30 years, the EU had carried out more than 140 anti-dumping investigations against Chinese products. "The Chinese side opposes consistently any abuse of anti-dumping actions and increasing of trade protectionism."

"TWO-WAY" OF DISPUTE SETTLEMENT

It's only normal for China to be frequently involved in trade disputes because of its huge trade volume, an opinion shared by WTO officials, including Director-General Pascal Lamy.

"The existence of the dispute system is inevitably a function of trade flows. The more trade you have, the more statistical chances you have to have frictions here and there," Lamy has previously told Xinhua.

The WTO chief stressed that the dispute settlement procedure was "a two-way street" -- while China can be a target of litigation, it can also bring cases against others.

While China is expected to be more determined in advancing its interests in the WTO, its overall trade relations with other WTO members, particularly the United States and the EU, will not be affected by any individual WTO dispute.

"It is hoped that both sides have positive dialogue under the framework of the WTO dispute settlement procedure and find a solution via consultation to meet the concerns of the Chinese side," the Ministry of Commerce said on Friday about the fastener dispute with the EU.

"Although we are disappointed that China has chosen to pursue a panel in this matter, we are confident that this dispute can be resolved through the WTO dispute settlement system. Therefore, we see no reason that this or any other dispute should have repercussions on any other trade matters between the United States and China," the U.S. delegation also said on Friday about the poultry case.

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China requests WTO panel to probe U.S. poultry import ban
GENEVA, July 20 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday formally requested the World Trade Organization (WTO) to set up an expert panel to investigate and rule whether a U.S. ban on Chinese poultry imports violates WTO regulations.

The request was made at a meeting of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body, but it was rejected by the United States according to relevant procedures.

During the meeting, the Chinese delegation reiterated that the U.S. measure is "discriminatory" and "has damaged the lawful rights and interests of China's poultry industry."

"While violating various WTO rules, the measure has severely undermined the stable development of Sino-U.S. trade in poultry products," the Chinese delegation said.

At the heart of the dispute is the U.S. Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009, which contains a section prohibiting any funds being used to facilitate imports of poultry products from China. The act was signed into U.S. law in March, and China filed complaints to the WTO in on April 17.

While Monday's request for the WTO panel was rejected by the United States, China could make a second request at the end of this month. After the second request, the WTO panel will be established automatically.

It usually takes more than half a year for a WTO panel to give its final ruling on a trade dispute.

China and the United States banned imports of each other's poultry products in 2004 following outbreaks of bird flu. They agreed to lift the bans at the Sino-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade in 2004.

China did lift the ban but has complained that the United States was not following suit.

China imported 580,000 tons of chicken products from the United States last year, accounting for about 75 percent of total chicken imports.

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