China ‘regrets’ WTO Appellate Body cannot hear its appeal over US solar panels tariffs ruling

The case dates back to 2018, when former president Donald Trump announced four years of import caps and tariffs on panels in response to a suit filed in April 2017
China notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) of its appeal decision on Monday after a panel found earlier this month that the US blocks had not broken the rules

World Trade Organization (WTO)

Bloomberg

Published: 9:44am, 21 Sep, 2021

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China appealed a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute ruling that rejected the nation’s claims against the United States relating to safeguard measures that the Trump administration imposed on solar panels imported from Chinese manufacturers.

Earlier this month, a WTO panel said China failed to establish that Washington’s safeguards against imports of certain crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells are inconsistent with the rules of the global trade body on the measures.

China notified the WTO of its appeal decision on Monday, the Geneva-based body said in an emailed statement.

The case dates back to 2018, when former president Donald Trump announced four years of import caps and tariffs on panels in response to a trade suit filed in April 2017 by a bankrupt US solar manufacturer that argued it had been harmed by a wave of cheap imports, mostly from Asia.

China regrets that currently no division of the Appellate Body can be established to hear this appeal

WTO statement

The WTO appellate body lacks a quorum of members to sign off on new rulings, which means China’s move will effectively act as a veto of the ruling because the case was appealed into a legal void.

“China regrets that currently no division of the Appellate Body can be established to hear this appeal,” according to a document published on the WTO’s website.

“In this exceptional circumstance, and in the interests of fairness and orderly procedure in the conduct of the appeal, China will await further instructions from the division, when it may eventually be composed, or the Appellate Body, regarding any further steps to be taken by China in this appeal.”