Donald Trump’s ‘inconsistent’ US$250 billion China tariffs likely to be investigated by WTO
- World Trade Organisation investigation expected to move ahead on Monday because the United States is unable to block the dispute inquiry for a second time
- Next round of trade war talks between the world’s two largest economies expected to begin on January 30 ahead of March 1 deadline
US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on US$250 billion of Chinese goods are expected to be investigated by the World Trade Organisation, with a one-time head of the Geneva-based arbitrators appellate body saying they are “inconsistent with WTO obligations”.
On Monday, the arbiter of trade disputes is likely to launch an inquiry into whether the US duties run afoul of a requirement that all World Trade Organisation (WTO) members give each other the same tariff treatment, as China asserts.
If a deal is not reached by March 1, the Trump administration has threatened to raise the tariff rate on US$200 billion of Chinese goods from 10 per cent to 25 per cent.
“This WTO case is especially significant because it deals with the central international legal issue in the US conduct of its trade war with China – whether the US can impose trade restrictions on China in response to alleged Chinese WTO violations without first seeking dispute settlement in the WTO,” said James Bacchus, a former Democratic congressman and one-time head of the WTO’s appellate body.
“I believe these US tariffs are inconsistent with WTO obligations, but it will be left to my successors on the WTO appellate body to decide.”
