Taxing solar cells and washing machines does not seem to satisfy the appetite of U.S. trade protection. Yesterday (January 24 local time), the U.S. top officials rarely named China's development strategy and they wanted to "block" the manufacturing of 2025 in China.
According to a Reuters report, U.S. Commerce Secretary Rose denied at the Davos forum press conference the accusation that the United States has implemented a protectionist policy, saying the United States has not tried to provoke a trade war but has tried to create a fair environment for global commerce. Then he changed his mind and said that "rejection pot" China is a banner of free trade and a master of trade protectionism. And think it should resist China's trade protectionism, including China's "direct threat" in the field of high-tech products.
"Chinese people have been advocating free trade for some time now, but they are more adept at using trade protectionism," said the next challenge, which is the ambition of the "Made in China 2025" plan for high-tech areas Aspiration The plan aims to build China into a manufacturing powerhouse, gaining a significant market share in the "most new technological areas that you can spell out and spell out."
"This is a direct threat, which is a direct threat through technology transfer, lack of respect for intellectual property, business espionage and various kinds of wrongdoing, so this is not just a matter of traditional overcapacity," said Rose.
He also said that U.S. trade authorities are investigating whether there are any cases of China's actions to infringe intellectual property rights. Currently, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lechselle is investigating the issue of intellectual property rights investigation, but the report is not expected to be completed in the short term.
In addition, Ross criticized China for subsidizing the overcapacity steel industry and accused China and the European Union of gaining unfair advantage from high tariffs, arguing that the two big economies should reduce their import duties to the level of the United States. "The degree of protectionism in the United States is indeed the lowest, and the U.S. trade deficit reflects this."
A few days before the Davos Forum was held, the United States announced that it would conduct "double reverse" investigations on plastic decorative ribbons imported from China, stainless steel flange products and fine denier polyester staple fiber products. It also planned to conduct anti-dumping investigations on steel, aluminum and others ; And the import of large domestic washing machines and import of solar cells and panels levied protective tariffs. U.S. President Trump declared the move to protect U.S. employment. It is estimated that the United States will also take further actions in respect of steel, aluminum and intellectual property.
Looking at the escalating trade frictions, Rose said the United States does not intend to trigger a trade war with the Great Depression.
For Rose's speech, the Wall Street Journal believes that this aggravates the tension in the Davos forum. Market, the same day, the S & P 500 index changed little while the Nasdaq index hovering in the shock trading.
In addition to the ever-intensifying "double-reversal" and the collection of tariffs, the United States's dissatisfaction with China's trade has extended to China's accession to the WTO.
Recently, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released a report saying that the United States' support for China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) failed to make the Chinese market more open and market-oriented and that China farther away from the market economy.
In response, China's Ministry of Commerce responded today. Ministry of Commerce spokesman peak said after the analysis of the report of the USTR, found that many of them disregard of facts, reversed the black and white, and even self-contradictory reports of the United States before, with obvious protectionism, unilateralism, the Chinese side strongly oppose.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce introduced peakly the opportunities and impetuses brought by China's accession to the WTO to the world economic development. According to the relevant data from the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and other international organizations, the contribution rate of the Chinese economy to the world economic growth in 2017 has exceeded 30%. Since China's accession to the WTO, China's total tariff level has dropped from 15.3% to 9.8%. It needs to be pointed out that in the 16 years after China's accession to the WTO, the U.S. exports of goods to China increased by 500%, much higher than the 90% growth in U.S. exports to the world. China jumped from the eighth largest export market in the United States to the third largest export market. It can be seen that members of the WTO, including the United States, have shared China's opportunities from China's accession to the WTO and all its members have enjoyed common development.
When talking about "some countries in Europe and the United States have always refused to recognize China's market economy status," Peak said: "To be exact, it should be the relevant international obligation of Europe and the United States to refuse to fulfill Article 15 of China's accession to the WTO as scheduled." China has always stressed The fulfillment of Article 15 on schedule is an international obligation that all WTO members should fulfill and has nothing to do with the so-called "market economy status" proposed by individual members under their domestic laws. The Chinese side has resorted to the WTO members' practice of the dispute settlement mechanism and the case is being promoted in an orderly manner in accordance with the WTO rules.