U.S. Wins Blockbuster WTO Ruling Over China

(Globe & Mail – Associated Press)

Wide-ranging trade decision could spell massive market opportunities for U.S. businesses in China

The United States has won a wide-ranging ruling against Chinese trade practices that could provide massive market opportunities for American makers of everything from CDs and DVDs to music downloads and books.

The verdict released Wednesday at the World Trade Organization in Geneva finds definitively against China for forcing American media producers to route their business in China through Chinese state-owned companies.

The WTO victory comes as President Barack Obama is being pressed to be tough on trade rules with China, which many Democrats in the U.S. Congress blame for America’s soaring trade deficits and lost manufacturing jobs. The case is sensitive also for the Chinese government, which asserts the right to keep out content it finds objectionable. Read more here.