China urges the U.S. to restore normal WTO dispute settlement mechanism

China has urged the United States to take concrete actions and respect the rules of the World Trade Organization to restore the normal functioning of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism, said the Ministry of Commerce in a statement.

The ministry's comments came as China filed an appeal with the WTO regarding the expert panel report on its countermeasures against the U.S. Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, on September 18. China contends that the expert panel's ruling contains legal errors, prompting this appeal action to safeguard its own interests, in accordance with WTO regulations.

It is important to highlight that China's countermeasures target the U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs, which are considered unilateral and protectionist measures and have previously been deemed in violation of WTO rules. The U.S. has obstructed the enforcement of the ruling, evading its obligation to rectify these non-compliant tariff measures, said the head of the ministry's department of treaty and law in the statement.

The commerce official called on the U.S. to promptly rectify these non-compliant measures, and, in conjunction with other WTO members to uphold a rules-based multilateral trading system.

In December 2022, the WTO made a ruling stating that the Section 232 tariffs imposed by the U.S. on steel and aluminum products in 2018, justified on national security grounds, were in violation of the organization's regulations.