WTO rules against China in US tyre imports case

China's Ministry of Commerce today said that it regretted the World Trade Organization's rejection of China's complaint against punitive US tariffs on Chinese tyreimports, it said however, that it would continue to urge the US to withdraw the tariffs.

According to a statement of the ministry, tariffs were protectionist measures resorted to due to domestic political pressure.

According to an official heading the department of treaty and law, the Chinese side expressed deep regret (over the ruling) and would continue to urge the US to suspend the tariff measures and safeguard a fair environment for Chinese businesses.

The case concerned a 2009 decision by US president Barack Obama for invoking a safeguard clause in China's WTO accession agreement for imposition of 35 per cent duty on Chinese tyre imports.

China lodged a complaint with the global trade watchdog which led to one of the biggest trade disputes between the two countries in recent years. The complaint was rejected by a panel in December following which China appealed the decision.

However, according to the WTO Appellate Body which threw out all of China's arguments in its ruling, the surge of tyreimports constituted "a significant cause of material injury to the domestic industry," and thus the US tariffs were consistent with international trade agreements.