China lodges WTO challenge to Donald Trump’s US$200 billion tariff plan
Commerce ministry gives no legal grounds or other details in brief statement
China announced it filed a World Trade Organisation challenge on Monday to US President Donald Trump’s proposal for a tariff hike on US$200 billion of Chinese goods, reacting swiftly amid deepening concern about the economic impact of their spiralling technology dispute.
The one-sentence commerce ministry statement gave no legal grounds for the challenge or other details.
It is an unusually rapid move for a trade case, coming less than one week after the US Trade Representative announced the tariff plan, which would not take effect until at least September.
The USTR said last week that it proposed the levy in response to Beijing’s decision to retaliate for US tariff increases over complaints China is hurting American companies by stealing or pressuring foreign enterprises to hand over technology.
China criticised the move but has yet to say whether it would retaliate for the second round of tariffs.