China Says US Will Challenge WTO Metals Ruling

Reuters has reported that China's Ministry of Trade has received notice from the United States that it will challenge a WTO ruling which found US 232 metals tariffs in breach of WTO rules.

• China's WTO ambassador, Li Chenggang, said the US is "a unilateral bully, a rule breaker, and a supply chain disruptor."
• Assistant USTR Adam Hodge said on December 9: “The United States strongly rejects the flawed interpretation and conclusions in the [WTO report]."
• Hodge: "The United States has held the clear and unequivocal position... that issues of national security cannot be reviewed in WTO dispute settlement... we do not intend to remove the Section 232 duties as a result of these disputes.”
• USTR Katherine Tai yesterday defended the Biden administration's spurning of free trade agreements: "In the pursuit of maximum efficiency and lower costs... Trade became a game of numbers, a race to the bottom..."
• Dan Markham at Metal Center News: "It has been relatively calm over the past few years on the global metals trading front. But with the instability caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, supply chain issues, worldwide inflation and a potential softening of demand, it won’t be a surprise if 2023 is a lot more contentious."