A labourer works on coils of steel wire at a steel
wholesale market in Beijing, Jan 17, 2012. (File photo: REUTERS/Soo Hoo
Zheyang)
BEIJING:
China has filed an appeal against a World Trade Organization panel report that
recognised the US' actions on steel and aluminium as security measures, the
Chinese commerce ministry said on Tuesday (Sep 19).
A WTO dispute settlement panel last month ruled in
favour of Washington over a tariff dispute with Beijing, stating that it found
China had acted inconsistently with
its WTO obligations by imposing additional duties on US goods in response to US
tariffs on steel and aluminium.
The
US imposed a 25 per cent duty on steel imports and a 10 per cent duty on
aluminium imports from countries including China in 2018 under the Donald Trump
administration. In response, Beijing announced additional duties to be applied
to certain imports originating in the US.
The Chinese commerce ministry said in a statement that
the WTO panel's ruling contains "legal errors".
The imposition of US tariffs on steel and aluminium
imports was "a unilateral and protectionist measure that had been found to
violate WTO rules", the ministry said.
China urges the US to take "practical
actions", respect WTO rules and rectify its "illegal measures"
as soon as possible, it said.
Beijing's appeal comes at time when tensions between
China and the US remain high despite recent efforts to mend their ties.
US
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was in Beijing last
month, the latest Biden administration official to visit China this year in a
bid to strengthen communications amid worries that frictions between the two
could spiral out of control.
A Taiwan Coast Guard ship travels past the coast of
China, in the waters off Nangan island of Matsu archipelago on Aug 16, 2022.
(File Photo: Reuters/Ann Wang)