China Asks WTO for Permission to Retaliate in Amount of $7 Billion Against US

China says that since the U.S. missed its late August deadline to implement changes required by a loss in a case before the appellate body at the World Trade Organization, it would like permission to suspend $7 billion worth of concessions in trade with the U.S. The case, begun in 2013, concerns the methodology of determining antidumping duties in non-market countries, primarily Vietnam and China. If a company accused of dumping product in the U.S. does not cooperate with a Commerce investigation in a way that the U.S. believes it is independent of state control, Commerce assigns a country-wide dumping duty. The WTO said that approach can be problematic in some instances (see 1610190037). China's request will be considered on Sept. 21. The U.S. can request arbitration on its changes to comply with the ruling, or can ask for a compliance panel to be formed.