US Panel Repeals Chinese Paper Duties
BEIJING
– A U.S. government panel said Wednesday it was canceling antidumping
duties on Chinese paper in a closely watched case that prompted Beijing
to file a World Trade Organization complaint.The International Trade
Commission said it concluded that American industry was not threatened
by imports of Chinese coated paper. A U.S. company had complained the
imports received improper government subsidies and were unfair
competition.”No antidumping or countervailing duties will be imposed on
imports of this product,” the American agency said on its Web site. It
said the ruling applied to similar imports from South Korea and
Indonesia.
The Bush administration is under pressure to take
action over China’s trade surplus with the United States. The gap
reached a record high of $232.5 billion in 2006 and is expected to
surpassed that this year. Some American lawmakers are calling for
sanctions if Beijing fails to act faster to narrow its trade surplus
and ease currency controls.Washington’s decision in May to impose
duties attracted attention because it reversed 23 years of U.S. policy
by treating China – which is classed as a nonmarket economy – the same
way other trading partners are treated in subsidy cases. The U.S.
government imposed preliminary tariffs ranging from 23.19 percent to
99.54 percent on imports of glossy Chinese paper used in art books,
textbooks and magazines.The move alarmed Beijing because it opened the
way for complaints by U.S. companies that face competition from imports
of Chinese furniture and other goods. Many say Chinese rivals receive
improper help in the form of low-cost loans and other aid.
China
demanded the repeal of the duties and filed a WTO complaint accusing
the United States of acting improperly.The case comes amid a flurry of
WTO complaints by the United States against China.Washington has filed
four cases accusing Beijing of giving Chinese companies illegal
subsidies, improperly blocking imports of foreign auto parts, hindering
sales of American movies and failing to adequately enforce intellectual
property rights.