USTR raps China electrical steel at WTO

Sep 15, 2010 | 01:36 PM | Scott Robertson

A pair of unfair trade cases have been filed against China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) by U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, who said he wants to "level the playing field for American companies and workers" in the steel and financial services industries.

In one case, the WTO is asked to engage in dispute settlement consultations regarding China's imposition of anti-dumping and countervailing duties on imports of grain-oriented flat-rolled electrical steels from the United States.

The other case requests consultations regarding China's discrimination against U.S. suppliers of electronic payment services.

"We are concerned that China is breaking its trade commitments to the United States and other WTO partners, both by favoring its one state-owned financial services firm to the exclusion of American credit and debit card companies, and by manipulating trade remedy investigations to unfairly restrict exports of American steel," Kirk said in a statement Wednesday. "In both cases, USTR is fighting for the American jobs threatened by China's actions and insisting on the level playing field promised in our WTO agreements."....