The US won a victory over China today in the dispute over increased agricultural subsidies in the People’s Republic of China before the World Trade Organization (WTO).
In 2016, Washington filed a billion-dollar lawsuit against the WTO in Geneva for „unfair“ trade conditions for rice, wheat and corn. According to Washington, China alone distributed around $ 100 billion more agricultural subsidies in 2015 than would have been allowed under the terms of the 2001 WTO accession.
US welcome arbitration
A WTO arbitral tribunal has now proved the US right. It also pointed out that it had not dealt with subsidies for corn because China had canceled the subsidies before the US filed the lawsuit. Both sides can challenge the decision within 60 days.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue welcomed the ruling as a „significant victory“ for local agriculture. „We expect China to meet its WTO obligations quickly,“ Lighthizer said.
