China Makes Second Call For Independent Panel In Steel Tax Dispute

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

20 June 2002

The China Daily news service reported on Wednesday that the new World Trade Organisation member is to make a second request to the multilateral trade body to establish an independent panel to rule on the legality of US steel tariffs imposed earlier this year.

Under World Trade Organisation rules, member states facing an investigation can reject the creation of an expert panel to rule on the measures under dispute once, but a second request from any other WTO member will automatically lead to the establishment of such a panel. The US government chose to take this course of action, and in a somewhat ill-timed move, blocked the creation of an expert panel just as George Bush began his European tour in May.

However, the step was somewhat futile, given the high degree of international indignation which the import tariffs have aroused, and the European Union, Japan, and the Republic of Korea all lodged their second requests some time ago.

Speaking to the China Daily, an unnamed official from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation revealed that China is not planning to back down on this issue, despite the fact that the US authorities have recently issued two fairly extensive lists of steel products to be exempted from the higher taxes.

'China will go for an independent panel at the WTO unless the United States exempts all of China's steel products from its tariffs,' he announced.

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