China urges US to correct wrongdoings in trade practices following WTO ruling

BEIJING - China has urged the United States to "find no more excuses and immediately correct the wrongdoings" in its trade practices after a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling granted China rights to slap tariffs on US goods, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

"We will pay close attention to the follow-up enforcement actions that the United States will take, and reserve the right to take further actions for safeguarding the multilateral trading regime," Gao Feng, a spokesperson with the ministry, told a press briefing.

On Jan 26, the WTO issued the decision that China could impose tariffs on goods imported from the United States totaling up to $645 million a year, as the US side failed to implement previous recommendations and rulings made by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body.

"The ruling is of great significance in rectifying US countervailing duties on imported Chinese goods, protecting the legitimate trade interests of Chinese companies and safeguarding multilateral trading systems," a statement posted on the ministry's website noted.

Gao said the WTO ruling again proved that the United States had for some time been breaching WTO rules, abusing trade remedy measures and refusing to fulfill its international obligations, which is detrimental to a fair and just international trading environment.

It is the second time China has been granted rights to impose retaliatory tariffs on imports from the United States, according to the ministry.

China has a faith in the active role of the international rule of law in stabilizing global economic and trade orders, as well as regulating international trade and economic relations, Gao noted.