A World Trade Organization (WTO) panel authorized China to impose tariffs on U.S. imports worth 3.579 billion U.S. dollars for experiencing impairment to trade.
The WTO ruling released Friday was made by a three-member arbitration panel, in which the damages awarded are the third highest in WTO history. The case was first brought by China in 2013, which was before the 18-month-old China-U.S. trade war, thus dealing with matters outside current negotiations.
China can now ask the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body to authorize retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods valued up to 3.579 billion U.S. dollars annually. Such requests are typically granted.
The WTO case favoring China concerning a methodology the U.S. used in calculating anti-dumping duties. The case concerns duties imposed on 13 imported Chinese products including machinery, electronics, metals and minerals, which was about half of what was requested by China.
Washington has repeatedly used the controversial method called "zeroing" in anti-dumping calculations, which refers to the practice of assigning the value of "zero" to any export prices that are higher than domestic prices. It therefore skews calculations of anti-dumping tariffs by inflating the difference in prices.
Several countries, including China, have challenged this methodology used by the U.S. in trying to increase duties on imports, particularly steel.
As a basis for its request, China included a total of 25 different products subject to anti-dumping duties calculated by the U.S. using the "zeroing" method found to be inconsistent in the original proceedings, the WTO said in a statement.
