China urges U.S. to quickly correct trade mistake after WTO ruling

BEIJING, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC) Monday called on the United States to correct its wrongdoing against China's export commodities after the World Trade Organization reversed a previous ruling.

"We hope the United States implements the WTO ruling as soon as possible for stable and sound development of Sino-U.S. economic and trade relations," said a statement on MOC's website, quoting a spokesman for the Department of Treaty and Laws.

"The (winning of the) case is a great victory for China in using WTO rules to protect the country's rights and will greatly boost WTO members' confidence in multilateral rules," the spokesman said.

The MOC official's remarks came after the WTO appellate body in its regular meeting in Geneva last Friday overturned a number of key findings by a WTO panel in October 2010.

The WTO panel's findings favored the U.S. anti-dumping and countervailing measures against imports from China such as steel pipes, some off-road tires and woven sacks.

The WTO appeals judges however ruled that the U.S. had illegally imposed two classes of punitive anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties of up to 20 percent on Chinese exports in 2007.

China filed its complaint to the WTO in December 2008, requesting that the Dispute Settlement Body establish a panel to probe a U.S. Commerce Department decision to impose anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Chinese-made steel pipe, tubing, sacks and tires and its determinations for the duties.

China argued that the U.S. punitive duties on Chinese products are a "double remedy" and are illegal and unfair. The WTO ruling supported China's argument, according to the MOC statement.

Source: Xinhua News