China has officially launched a WTO dispute settlement procedure against US photovoltaic (PV) safeguards and renewable energy subsidies, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Tuesday.
The United States previously adopted global safeguard measures for imported PV products made abroad with a maximum tariff of 30 percent. Such a move is a potential breach of the WTO Agreement on Safeguards both procedurally and practically. It not only harms the legitimate rights and interests of China and the Chinese companies, but also damages the authority of the WTO rules.
The US granted additional subsidies to renewable energy products such as PV products while taking protective measures toward imported PVs, which are suspected of import substitution subsidies and violate the national treatment obligations.
The US has seriously disrupted the international market for PV products and rendered unfair competitive edges to its own renewable energy industry.
China has resorted to the WTO dispute settlement procedure as a way to safeguard the country’s legitimate rights and interests and uphold multilateral trade rules.
China urges the US to take concrete actions, respect the WTO rules and forsake wrong practices so as to bring relevant trade back to normal.
Source: news.cgtn
