China on Monday requested the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement mechanism to set up an expert panel over the United States' Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Underlining important contributions China's new energy vehicle (NEV) industry has made to global green energy transition and global response to climate change, a spokesperson of China's Ministry of Commerce said that China in March requested WTO consultations regarding parts of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act that subsidize NEVs. As the U.S. failed to reach a solution with China through consultations, the Chinese side put up a request for the setup of an expert panel.
The spokesperson pointed out that the U.S. IRA sets a premise on the use of products from the United States and other designated regions for subsidies, excluding products from China and other WTO members, artificially setting up trade barriers, and driving up the cost of green energy transition. No matter how the Act is sugar-coated, it cannot change the discriminatory, protectionist, and WTO-rule violating nature of the subsidies involved, the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson pointed out that China's resolute advancement of the litigation process is to take practical actions to safeguard the authority and effectiveness of the WTO-centered multilateral trading system, and to safeguard the joint international efforts to address climate change.
China agrees that WTO members should implement industrial subsidies in a manner in compliance with WTO rules, support green energy transformation, and promote economic and social development, the spokesperson said, stressing that China once again urges the United States to abide by WTO rules and stop abusing industrial policies to undermine international cooperation on climate change.
China requests WTO to establish panel over US act
