Washington: The US has won its case against China at the World Trade Organsation on the Chinese imposition of import duties on high-technology American steel product, an official said Thursday.
A WTO Panel agreed with the United States that China had acted inconsistently with its WTO obligations in imposing the duties and as such the Appellate Body, in turn, rejected all of Chinese claims on appeal.
'This is a victory for the United States as well as for American workers and manufacturers," US Trade Representative Ron Kirk, adding that the Obama Administration will not stand by and allow China to break international trade rules.
"American manufacturers and workers can compete and win on a level playing field, but China’s unfair duties choked off nearly all US GOES exports to its market," Kirk said.
GOES is a high-tech, high-value magnetic specialty steel that is used primarily by the power generating industry in transformers, rectifiers, reactors, and large electric machines.
The United States pursued this case to ensure that China does not harm US exports, and the American workers and firms that make them, by abusing trade remedy practices.
AK Steel Corporation, based in Ohio, and Allegheny Ludlum, based in Pennsylvania, manufacture GOES.
PTI
First Published: Friday, October 19, 2012, 00:46