Canada takes US to WTO in dispute over duties and subsidies – which is bad news for Trump

Canada has launched a wide-ranging trade dispute against the United States, challenging Washington’s use of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties.

Canada made the claims in a filing at the WTO which is dated December 20, 2017, but which was only published on Wednesday.

It appeared to be mounting a case on behalf of the rest of the world, since it cited almost 200 examples of alleged US wrongdoing, almost all of them concerning other trading partners, such as China, India, Brazil and the European Union.

The 32-page complaint homed in on technical details of the US trade rule book, ranging from the US treatment of export controls to the use of retroactive duties and split decisions by the six-member US International Trade Commission.

This will be of concern to the Trump administration, which has said it may use duties to tackle Chinese manufacturing dominance.

Canada said US procedures broke the WTO’s Anti-Dumping Agreement, the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes.