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Informist, Tuesday, Apr. 8, 2025

--WTO: China initiated dispute over US reciprocal tariffs

NEW DELHI – The World Trade Organization on Tuesday circulated among its members China's dispute consultation against the reciprocal tariff imposed by the US administration on the imports originating from China. Beijing had requested a WTO dispute consultations against the tariff on Friday. 

China has requested dispute consultation over the US's decision to impose 10% additional duty on imports from all trading partners effective Saturday, and a 34% additional duty on imports from China that will become effective on Wednesday. Beijing claimed that the Trump administration's decision was inconsistent with the US' obligations under various provisions of the World Trade Organization.

The request for consultations formally initiates a dispute in the World Trade Organization. "Consultations give the parties an opportunity to discuss the matter and to find a satisfactory solution without proceeding further with litigation. After 60 days, if consultations have failed to resolve the dispute, the complainant may request adjudication by a panel," a statement of WTO read.

Earlier in the day, China had vowed to fight to the end if the US continued with the tariff war. Responding to US President Donald Trump's additional 50% tariff threat, China said that resorting to pressure or issuing threats was not an appropriate way to engage. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs asserted that Beijing will do what is necessary to safeguard its legitimate and lawful rights and interests.

"Pressuring, threatening and extorting China is not the right way to engage with us. If the US insists on waging the tariffs and trade war regardless of the interest of both the countries and international community, China will play along till the end," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian said at a press conference on Tuesday.

On Monday, Trump threatened to impose an additional 50% tariff on Chinese goods effective Wednesday if Beijing failed to remove the 34% retaliatory tariffs imposed on imports from the US.

On Friday, the People's Republic of China announced a 34% reciprocal tariff on all US goods from Thursday, in a tit-for-tat move after Trump last week imposed 34% tariff on Chinese goods, in addition to the 20% imposed earlier, taking the total tariffs to 54%. End

Reported by Kuldeep Singh

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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