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China regrets US action on auto parts
(Reuters/chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2006-03-31 12:56
China voiced regret on Friday that the European Union and the United States
had turned to the World Trade Organisation to try to prise open the country's
$19 billion car parts market to more imports.
The row is the latest in a
series of trade disputes sparked by China's growing global clout, which will be
high on the agenda when President Hu Jintao visits Washington on April 20.
It is the first time the EU's executive Commission has taken China to
the WTO since Beijing joined the trade watchdog in 2001. It is the second case
Washington has brought against Beijing.
"The Chinese side expresses
regret over this and is earnestly studying the request for consultations by the
EU and the United States," a statement on the Ministry of Commerce's Web site
(www.mofcom.gov.cn) quoted a spokesman, Chong Quan, as saying.
On March
30, the ambassadors of the EU and US missions to the TWO informed Chinese
ambassador Sun Zhenyu to the WTO, requesting consultations under the WTO
mechanism for settling disputes concerning China's policies for auto industry
development, Chong said.
Brussels and Washington want Beijing to change
certain tariff policies they say hinder Western auto makers and car parts
suppliers in China, now one of the world's biggest auto markets.
China
has 10 days to respond to the request and must start consultations within 30
days. If the issue cannot be resolved within a further 60 days, the EU and the
United States may request a WTO panel to hear and rule on the dispute.
The EU and United States have long complained about a lack of access in
general to China's fast-growing markets as well as piracy and counterfeiting of
Western goods.
They have also accused China of unfairly helping its
exporters. Brussels is due to start applying anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese
leather shoes next week and Washington says China deliberately holds down the
value of the yuan.
A newspaper published by the Commerce Ministry on
Friday chided some EU nations for blaming Beijing for their own shortcomings.
The International Business Daily quoted an official from think-tank at
the ministry as saying higher labour and production costs were eroding the
25-nation bloc's competitiveness.
Some EU governments were prone to
blaming outside factors, like China's exchange rate or unfair trading practices,
for their own commercial problems.
"They take anti-dumping measures to
transfer their responsibilities," the paper quoted Zhao Yumin as saying.
The frictions over trade coincided with the fastest period of export
growth that the country has ever seen, the paper said.
Senior officials
have said that strains are inevitable in such circumstances and have repeatedly
called for problems to be resolved at the negotiating table.
This was
what happened last year when China agreed with Brussels and Washington on new
textile export caps after a surge in Chinese shipments, triggered by an end to
global quotas, led to a clamour for protection from EU and U.S. producers.
Carmakers have flocked to China to set up joint ventures.
China
considers parts a "whole vehicle" if they account for 60 percent or more of the
value of the final vehicle and charges a higher tariff on them, the European
Commission said.
The rule appears designed to help Chinese car parts
makers, officials in Brussels and Washington say.
Both U.S. Trade
Representative Rob Portman and EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said they
still hoped the dispute could be resolved before the WTO formally establishes a
panel to hear the case.
But Portman also warned China to expect more WTO
complaints if U.S. concerns over piracy and market access barriers cannot be
resolved through negotiations.
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