Further retaliatory trade steps against China could be ahead - US official |
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Wed, 18 Apr 2007 11:38
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BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - Recent retaliatory US tariffs against China could be followed by more such steps in the future but trade ties should stay strong overall, a US Commerce Department official said.The United States currently has no plans for other countervailing tariffs like those on Chinese imports of glossy paper announced last month, Assistant Commerce Secretary David Spooner told reporters in Beijing, but he acknowledged a growing anti-China climate in Washington on trade issues could lead to more.'Clearly our decision of two weeks ago may lead to additional subsidy cases but I wouldn't characterise it as a protectionist move or one that would escalate trade tensions,' Spooner said before departing Beijing.Spooner, whose import administration bureau implements US laws on unfair trade, was in China for a brief visit to explain the US rationale over the penalty tariffs decision, imposed on March 30 in retaliation for what the US calls unfair Chinese subsidies for its glossy paper industry.'It's fair to say the government of China does not fully agree with our findings,' Spooner said, offering no other details on the Chinese response.The glossy paper tariffs broke with a US practice of not applying such measures against 'non-market' economies.China is still classified as such but Spooner said its economy was developed enough to be fair game for such measures.'You would have to be divorced from reality to say there was an absence of market forces in China,' he said.'Insofar as there is an undercurrent in the US of unease on trade with China and claims that the playing field is not level, it allows us to go to manufacturers and say, 'if you have a complaint, gather evidence and file a case on merit,' added Spooner.He noted that most such measures are triggered by petitions from manufacturers, not by the government.afp
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