China calls Trump ‘discriminatory’ tariffs on the WTO complaint

China accused the United States of making “unfounded and false accusations” about their role in fentanyl trade to justify tariffs on Chinese products.

The complaint was filed before the World Trade Organization (WTO) one day after the president of the United States, Donald Trump, increased border taxes on Chinese products by 10%, a measure that he said had the intention of addressing An influx of illegal drugs.

In the presentation, China said the measures were “discriminatory and protectionists” and violated the rules of world trade.

The dispute occurs when Trump’s plans for rates, a tax that has said he wants to see taxes for all foreign shipments in the country, are causing uncertainty throughout the world commercial landscape.

Trump has said that tariffs will encourage companies to make their products in the United States, expressing a repeated concern about the size of the commercial deficit.

But his actions against China, which has threatened to expand to other countries, including Canada, Mexico and Europe, have caused concerns about their impact on the economy, even in the United States, as companies respond to commercial uncertainty when retaining investments or approve in new customers costs.

American imports reached their highest record in December, since companies responded to tariff threats, running to secure toys abroad, mobile phones and computers.

The value of the goods brought to the United States increased 4% in November to $ 293.1 billion, the highest since the records began in 1992, the Department of Commerce said Wednesday.

The increase also contributed to the highest commercial deficit, or gap, between exports and imports in almost two years.

Tariffs have also caused political tension, including China’s reprisals, which responded to Trump’s movement with tariffs on US assets and Google’s antitrust research, among other measures.

The speed with which China filed its complaint with the WTO is an indication of Beijing’s preparation for the commercial fight.

On Wednesday, Bloomberg also reported that the country’s antimonopoolio regulator was preparing for a possible research on Apple policies and application store rates, which reaches the company’s actions.

Trump’s movements, which included ordering tax free treatment for less than $ 800, will be an important “shock” for some companies, such as Shein and Temu, as they erode the ability to offer ultra low prices, said Mark Williams, Chinese chief economist in Capital Economics.

But he said he thought of China in general that the effects of Trump’s tariffs would not be too harmful.

“For the broader Chinese economy, this is definitely manageable,” he said.

The WTO procedures give the United States and China 60 days to resolve their dispute through consultations, at which time China has the right to request the award of a panel of judges.

But it is not clear how effective it will be a remedy.

The WTO final panel that resolves commercial disputes remains unable to function, since the United States refuses to approve the appointment of new judges to the body.

The United States also ignored a previous finding of the WTO that the previous tariffs on steel and aluminum that were imposed during Trump’s first mandate were against the rules.

China was classified as the county with the largest deficit in goods in December, sending $ 25.3 billion more to the US.

The European Union, an objective of Trump’s tariff threats, had the second largest gap.

On the contrary, the United States enjoyed a small surplus of $ 2.3 billion in the trade of goods with the United Kingdom.

In general, the commercial deficit in the United States, including services, increased 17% last year to a total of $ 918.4 billion, as imports increased faster than exports.

In December, the commercial deficit in goods and services was $ 98.4 billion, the highest since March 2022, said the Department of Commerce.