China has tightened the tone in the trade dispute with the United States that has been smoldering for years. At a meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on controversial issues on Friday, the representative of the People’s Republic called the trade rival a “ruffian” and “rule breaker”.
The comments by China’s envoy to the WTO, Li Cheggang, appeared to be a reaction to a recent US move. They had lodged an objection to a recent WTO decision that the USA had breached international rules because of the tariffs on steel and aluminum introduced under the presidency of Donald Trump.
However, the WTO is unlikely to be able to review the US appeal in the metal tariff dispute because its supreme appellate body is paralyzed. The reason: the United States itself had blocked the appointment of judges.
Former US President Trump imposed tariffs worth billions in the trade dispute with China in 2018 and 2019. That led to higher prices.
China has long argued that reducing tariffs would benefit US consumers. However, the US government under President Joe Biden has retained tariffs on steel and aluminum and justifies this with the protection of its own industry. (Reuters)
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