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China and US go head-to-head at WTO meeting

By Caoimhe Toman

Date: Monday 17 Dec 2018

China and US go head-to-head at WTO meeting

(Sharecast News) - The US and China sparred again over their respective trade policies at a World Trade Organisation meeting in Geneva at the start of the week.


Officials from Beijing criticised US policies saying they're a "unilateralist and protectionist" approach to trade.

Chinese ambassador Zhang Xiangchen said Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum products were "based on dubious national security concerns," the Associated Press reported.

US ambassador to the WTO, Dennis Shea, retorted that the comments were unwarranted.

"The United States is raising serious concerns with the functioning and direction of this important institution, and the fundamental challenge posed by China's state-led, mercantilist approach to the economy and trade," Shea said during the latest biannual "trade policy review" of the United States at the WTO.

The global trade environment was "heavily skewed" in favour of China, Shea added.

However, Marc Vanheukelen, the European Union's ambassador to the WTO, was also critical of American policies, explaining that Donald Trump's rhetoric had turned even more protectionist since he entered the White House.

"Today, unfortunately, rhetoric has turned into reality and the repercussions of tariffs and other restrictions are being felt at the heart of this organisation, and more generally in global growth prospects," he said.

"The multilateral trading system is in a deep crisis and the United States is at its epicenter for a number of reasons."

The latest spat between China and the US comes after both countries reached a 90-day truce at the G20 summit in Argentina earlier this month.

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