World Trade Organization (WTO) has formally received a complaint from China in regard to recent imposition of the United States’ import tariffs on solar PV products originating from China, which it believes violate WTO regulations.
In January US imposed a 30% tariff on imported solar cells and modules in response to a Section 201 trade case that ran through the country’s International Trade Commission (ITC).
China this week filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization against the United States’ 30% safeguard tariffs on imported solar cells and modules, as well as the country’s renewable energy subsidies which, China claims, in concert with the tariffs creates “an unfair competitive advantage” for US-based companies and damages “the legitimate rights and interests of China’s renewable energy companies.”
The measures taken by the United States, both procedural and physically, are suspected of violating the WTO Agreement on Safeguards. This act of abuse of safeguards not only harms the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese side, but also affects the seriousness and authority of the WTO rules.
China’s “Request for Consultations” to the United States WTO delegation cites numerous issues with the United States’ decision to impose tariffs, specifically as it pertains to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 and the Agreement on Safeguards.
Reference- Cleantechnica, Reuters