US tariffs on China ruled to be illegal by world trade body

[Nevilledog]

https://www.nbc12.com/2020/09/15/us-tariffs-china-ruled-be-illegal-by-world-trade-body/

GENEVA (AP) — A World Trade Organization panel ruled Tuesday that Trump administration tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods are illegal, vindicating Beijing even if the United States has all but incapacitated the WTO’s ability to hand down a final, binding verdict.

The decision marks the first time that the Geneva-based trade body has ruled against a series of high-profile tariffs that President Donald Trump’s government has imposed on a number of countries — allies and rivals alike. Trump has repeatedly claimed that the WTO treats the U.S. unfairly.

The ruling, in theory, would allow China to impose retaliatory tariffs on billions' worth of U.S. goods. But it is unlikely to have much practical impact, at least in the short term, because the U.S. can appeal the decision and the WTO’s appeals court is currently no longer functioning — largely because of Washington’s single-handed refusal to accept new members for it.

In its decision, the WTO’s dispute settlement body ruled against the U.S. government’s argument that China has wrongly engaged in practices harmful to U.S. interests on issues including intellectual property theft and technology transfer — and it quickly drew criticism of U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer.

“This panel report confirms what the Trump administration has been saying for four years: The WTO is completely inadequate to stop China’s harmful technology practices,” Lighthizer said in a statement. He said the United States had presented “extensive evidence” of China’s intellectual property theft and the WTO has offered no fixes for it.

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