US Appealed To The WTO On Steel And Aluminum Tariff Violations By Communist China

According to media reports, the U.S. government on January 26th appealed to the World Trade Organization (WTO) decision that was announced last month that said U.S. tariffs on imported steel and aluminum are not allowed. These tariffs were enacted in 2018 by the Trump administration based on national security concerns. In addition, the U.S. appeals to WTO’s ruling on the ‘Made in Hong Kong’ label. In late December, the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) ruled that Washington violated international trade rules by imposing a “Made in China” label on goods imported from Hong Kong. U.S. Ambassador Maria Pagan announced at a meeting of the DSB, “The United States will not cede decision-making over its essential security to WTO panels.” The Trump administration’s punitive tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from China, Norway, Switzerland, and Turkey has been extended by President Biden. The additional tariffs were imposed under Section 232, which authorizes the United States to restrict imports of certain products to protect national security, which is the crucial element of the U.S. appeal on Friday. On January 27th, China’s ambassador to the WTO Li Chenggang spoke at a meeting on trade disputes shortly after the United States appealed against a series of WTO rulings involving China, with Beijing calling Washington a “unilateral bully” and “rule breaker.”