Saturday, September 18, 2010

U.S. Takes China Trade Cases to WTO

(Industry Week – Agence France-Presse)

Trade tensions between the United States and China ratcheted up another notch on Sept. 15, as Washington called on the WTO to probe unfair Chinese trade practices. The United States asked the World Trade Organization to investigate China’s allegedly unfair treatment of U.S. steel and electronic payment providers, the first step toward sanctions.

“We are concerned that China is breaking its trade commitments to the United States and other WTO partners,” U.S. trade representative Ron Kirk said. Amid mounting U.S. anger about China’s trade policies, Kirk’s office said it would ask the WTO for “consultations” about Beijing’s policies, a step that could lead to sanctions. Read more here.