China is going to ask the World Trade Organization to authorize retaliatory tariffs on $2.4 billion worth of goods at the WTO's dispute settlement body meeting Oct. 28. If the U.S. disagrees with either the argument that it's not complying with the ruling on countervailing duties, or the amount of retaliation permitted, an arbitrator will decide how much China may retaliate.
World Trade Organization Deputy Director General Alan Wolff said that while there are tricky issues in the e-commerce talks in Geneva -- privacy and the free flow of data among them -- "the process is moving forward rapidly and in a very good spirit."
Trade experts identified many weaknesses of the World Trade Organization -- the evidentiary standard for countervailing duties: the fact that CVD in one market doesn't help the industry's economics when surplus flows to other countries; the length of time it takes to show adverse effects to domestic firms; the fact that 164 countries can't agree on trade liberalization.
The World Customs Organization issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Information Technology Industry Council and 25 other trade groups, including groups from Africa, Asia, South America and Europe, have issued a position paper on what they'd like to see in the plurilateral E-Commerce Agreement at the World Trade Organization. The U.S. and China are both in these talks, and some are concerned that China will oppose what business groups describe as high-standard planks, such as prohibiting data localization and no restrictions on cross-border data flows.
The World Customs Organization issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters:
India blocked a first request from the U.S. for the World Trade Organization to form a panel to judge whether the hike in tariffs that India instituted because of the U.S. tariffs on Indian steel and aluminum breaks the rules. The panel is automatically convened after a second request. India delayed retaliating for the Section 232 tariffs for many months, but put them in place after the U.S. removed India from the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program.
Canada's minister of international trade diversification said that Canada will ask for consultations at the World Trade Organization over discrimination against Canadian canola oil imports in China. Minister Jim Carr made the statement Sept. 6, saying Canada has a "robust food inspection system."
World leaders should commit to pushing the World Trade Organization toward declaring permanent a moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions, a tech industry coalition told member countries attending the G-7 Leaders’ Summit this month. The Internet Association, the Information Technology Industry Council, ACT | The App Association, BA | The Software Alliance, the Computer & Communications Industry Association and various Japanese trade groups signed the letter. The group also called on the G-7 leaders to "continue to expand participation in WTO agreements, such as the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) and Information Technology Agreement (IA)."
A World Trade Organization arbitrator will review Korea's request to impose tariffs on $350 million worth of U.S. imports because Korea claims the U.S. did not comply with a WTO ruling on antidumping for oil country tubular goods (see 1711140008). The U.S. said Aug. 9 that the level of retaliation is too high. Korea lost most of its claims in the original 2014 case, and the Commerce Department said it complied with the findings regarding profit determinations.