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16:28, 02-Dec-2017
China opposes US rejection of granting market economy status
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The Chinese Ministry of Commerce ( MOFCOM) expressed on Saturday its firm objection to the US's rejection of China's market economy status, saying it is deeply unsatisfied with the move.
The response came after the US told the World Trade Organization (WTO) that it opposed granting China market economy status in a document supporting the European Union in a dispute with China.
The case deals with whether the EU has the right to use the "surrogate country methodology" while handling anti-dumping investigations into China, and the US submitted a document as a third party in protocol in late November.
Under the surrogate country methodology, some WTO members may use costs of production in a third country to calculate the value of products from countries on its "non-market economy" list. The practice allows countries to levy high tariffs easily in trade disputes.
However, the surrogate country methodology expired on December 11, 2016, according to Article 15 of China’s accession protocol signed in 2001 when China joined the WTO.
The China-EU dispute case is not relevant to market economy status, and the WTO rules has no defining standards for market economy status, MOFCOM said.
The US overlooked the rules of WTO and mixed the issues of surrogate country methodology and market economy status in a bid to mislead the public, the ministry said.