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Business Title: US Starts WTO Dispute Case vs China Over Auto,Parts Subsidy WASHINGTON (MNI) - The U.S. Trade Representative Monday announced it has launched a dispute case against China in the World Trade Organization over what it calls unfair subsidies for China's auto and auto parts industries which provide an unfair advantage over U.S. firms. The announcement came as President Barack Obama was preparing to make two campaign stops in the battleground state of Ohio, which USTR said is one of the top five states for auto and auto parts manufacturing. "The Obama Administration is committed to protecting the rights of nearly 800,000 American workers in our $350 billion auto and auto parts manufacturing sector," USTR Ron Kirk said in a statement. "We insist upon having a level playing field on which our world-class manufacturers can compete." "Export subsidies are prohibited under WTO rules because they are unfair and severely distort international trade," he said, and noted, "China expressly agreed to eliminate all export subsidies when it joined the WTO in 2001." USTR said China's "export base" subsidy program "provides extensive subsidies to auto and auto parts producers located in designated regions," and the program "appears to provide export subsidies that are prohibited under WTO rules because they severely distort trade." "The subsidies provide an unfair advantage to auto and auto parts manufacturers located in China, which are in competition with producers located in the United States and other countries," the statement said. China made at least $1 billion in subsidies available to auto and auto-parts exporters in China in 2009-2011, USTR said, citing publicly available documents. The USTR has formally requested consultations with China under the auspices of the WTO, the first step in the dispute settlement process. Under WTO rules, if the matter is not resolved through consultations within 60 days, the United States may request the establishment of a WTO dispute settlement panel which would rule on the matter and could impose a binding decision. Separately, the USTR took the next step in a pending WTO dispute case with China, and requested the WTO establish a dispute settlement panel to address China's imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties on more than $3 billion in exports of American-produced automobiles. The United States and China tried to resolve the matter following the U.S. request for formal dispute settlement consultations in June, but the consultations did not succeed. The case announced Monday is the latest in a series of enforcement actions the Obama administration has taken against China in the WTO, and the WTO has ruled in favor of the U.S. side in those that have been resolved: --In July, the WTO ruled in favor of the U.S. challenge against China's restrictions on electronic payment services. --In March, USTR, along with the EU and Japan, launched a dispute against China's export restraints on "rare earths," a class of raw materials used in high-tech and clean-energy products. --Earlier this year, the United States successfully concluded a challenge to China's export restraints on key industrial raw materials. --In three pending WTO disputes dating from 2009 to 2011, the United States is challenging China's duties on autos; steel products; and poultry products. --In 2010, the United States challenged China's local-content subsidies to its wind power equipment manufacturers, resulting in China's revocation of the subsidy program. ** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **
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#1. To: Brian S, *Extended Clip Progressives* (#0)
A very weak response by Oilbomer. If he was serious, he'd drone bomb the Chinese parts factories, like he does everyone else.
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