USTR: WTO Should End Dispute on Section 301 Tariffs

The U.S. trade representative is telling the World Trade Organization that the case China brought against the U.S. for Section 301 tariffs should be dropped. "China’s decision to launch this dispute is hypocritical. China is currently retaliating against the United States by imposing duties on most U.S. exports -- over $100 billion of trade. China cannot legitimately challenge measures at issue for being 'unilateral' and WTO-inconsistent, while at the same time openly adopting its own unilateral tariff measures in connection with the very same matter."

Because the U.S. and China each levied tariffs on the other, "the report of the Panel should 'be confined' to a brief description reporting that the parties have reached their own resolution," the USTR said in a submission Aug. 27.

But if the panel does proceed, the U.S. is arguing that China's theft and coercion regarding technology is such "morally wrong behavior" that Section 301 is justified under GATT's principals, which allow for measures "necessary to protect public morals." The USTR said that allowing a panel to side with China, when it engages in such clearly unfair ways, would threaten "the viability and relevance of the WTO."