USTR Seeking Comment of China's WTO Proceeding on Countervailing Duties
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking comments on China's request for World Trade Organization consultations with the U.S. about countervailing duty determinations and orders by the International Trade Administration on imports of the products from China (see ITT's Online Archives 12052537).
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China requested consultations May 25 on the preliminary and final countervailing duty determinations and countervailing duty orders issued by the ITA on the following imports from China:
- Lightweight Thermal Paper (Investigation C-570-921);
- Circular Welded Austenitic Stainless Pressure Pipe (Investigation C-570-931);
- Certain Circular Welded Carbon Quality Steel Line Pipe (Investigation C-570-936);
- Citric Acid and Certain Citrate Salts (Investigation C-570-938);
- Certain Tow Behind Lawn Groomers and Certain Parts Thereof (Investigation C-570-940);
- Certain Kitchen Appliance Shelving and Racks (Investigation C-570-942);
- Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods (Investigation C-570-944); Pre-Stressed Concrete Steel Wire Strand (Investigation C-570-946);
- Certain Steel Grating (Investigation C-570-948);
- Wire Decking (Investigation C-570-950);
- Certain Magnesia Carbon Bricks (Investigation C-570-955);
- Certain Seamless Carbon and Alloy Steel Standard Line and Pressure Pipe (Investigation C-570-957);
- Certain Coated Paper Suitable for High-Quality Print Graphics Using Sheet-Fed Presses (Investigation C-570-959);
- Drill Pipe (Investigation C-570-966);
- Aluminum Extrusions (Investigation C-570-968);
- Multilayered Wood Flooring (Investigation C-570-971);
- Certain Steel Wheels (Investigation C-570-974);
- Steel Wire (Investigation C-570-976);
- High Pressure Steel Cylinders (Investigation C-570-978); Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into Modules (Investigation C-570-980);
- Utility Scale Wind Towers (Investigation C-570-982);
- Drawn Stainless Steel Sinks (Investigation C-570-984)
China says the U.S. acted inconsistently with Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994); Articles 1, 2, 10, 11, 12, 14, and 32 the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures ("SCM Agreement"); and Article 15 the Protocol on the Accession of the People's Republic of China ("Protocol of Accession"). China said it's requesting consultations with respect to the "'rebuttable presumption' established and applied by the ITA, under which the ITA considers majority government ownership of an enterprise sufficient to determine that an enterprise is a 'public body' within the meaning of Article 1.1 of the SCM Agreement, unless a party is able to demonstrate that majority government ownership does not result in 'control' of the enterprise."
Comments should be submitted by July 22, USTR said, to www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2012-0010. Further information: Ben Kostrzewa, 202-395-9579.