Ambivalent Stances

China is retaliating South Korea in all directions over its deployment while insisting the US  and the EU abide by international fair trade rules.
China is retaliating South Korea in all directions over its deployment while insisting the US and the EU abide by international fair trade rules.

 

China insists that the United States and the European Union (EU) abide by fair trade rules, retaliating South Korea in all directions over its deployment of the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) System on the Korean Peninsula.

According to the Korea International Trade Association's Brussels branch and foreign media on March 17 (local time), the Chinese government recently demanded a trial by the WTO dispute settlement body, saying that the EU's anti-dumping duty calculation method violates the WTO rules.

An anti-dumping duty is a trade control measure that imposes high-rate tax on dumping goods when the exporting country sells the goods at lower prices than at home. China was not recognized as a market economy state at the time of its entry into the WTO in December 2001, so higher prices than those at home were applied as a guide for the anti-dumping of Chinese export products because the prices of third countries were applied to the Chinese products. According to the accession protocol, 15 years later, WTO member states are obliged to give China the status of a market-economy nation, but the US and EU deny it, saying that the status is not automatically recognized.

Since the inauguration of the Donald Trump administration in the United States, protectionism has intensified, fueling conflicts over the recognition of China as a market economy. The Chinese government filed a complaint with the WTO against the United States and the EU in December last year. This time China demanded a trial of only the EU through the WTO dispute settlement body.

The WTO stipulates that "trade is not restricted for political reasons." China criticizes trade regulations based on these international laws but is applying double standards in dealing with trade with South Korea. The Korean government has decided to look into whether or not China's double-standard measures honor the Korea-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and WTO rules.

 

 

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