On WTO report, China says trade moves against US 'safeguard rights and interests’

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) - China has said it took trade measures against the US to "safeguard its legitimate rights and interest."

Reacting to a report by the World Trade Organization (WTO), China's Commerce Ministry said late Wednesday the "root cause" of the problem, in this case, is the "unilateral and protectionist moves" of Washington.

The WTO said Wednesday that China "acted inconsistently" with international obligations by imposing additional duties on US imports when former President Donald Trump's administration had imposed a 25% duty on steel imports and a 10% duty on aluminum imports from China.

However, the Commerce Ministry recalled that since March 2018, the "US has generalized the definition of national security and enforced tariffs on steel and aluminum items shipped to the US by several WTO members, including China."

"The United States insisted on going its own way, obstructed the entry into force of the expert panel's ruling, evaded its obligations, and refused to cancel the illegal tariff measures," the ministry said in the statement.

"China's countermeasures were taken in accordance with the law and are legitimate actions to safeguard the country's legitimate rights and interests," it added.

Beijing “demands that the United States immediately cancel the steel and aluminum measures that violate WTO rules and work with other WTO members in the same direction to maintain the rules-based multilateral trading system together," the statement concluded.