The United States, European Union and Japan jointly rounded on China's "market-distorting subsidies" at the World Trade Organization conference in Argentina Tuesday.

A joint statement from the three powers made no direct mention of China, but said "severe excess capacity in key sectors, exacerbated by government-financed and supported capacity expansion, unfair competitive conditions caused by large market-distorting subsidies and state-owned enterprises" were serious problems for international trade.

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem, Japan's trade minister Hiroshige Seko and US representative Robert Lighthizer agreed to strengthen their committment to "ensure a global level playing field."

They said they would work "to eliminate these and other unfair market distorting and protectionist practices."

The US and EU are strongly opposed to China's demand to be seen as a "market economy" by the WTO. Such recognition would entitle China to preferential economic treatment under WTO rules, and remove competitors' special recourse to levy anti-dumping duties on China if it sells goods at unfairly low prices abroad.

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US says 'litigation-centered' WTO losing focus
Buenos Aires (AFP) Dec 11, 2017
The top US trade representative launched a broadside at the World Trade Organization on Monday, accusing it of losing its focus on trade negotiation and becoming a "litigation-centered" body. "Too often members seem to believe they can gain concessions through lawsuits that they could never get at the negotiating table," Robert Lighthizer told the WTO ministerial conference in Buenos Aires. ... read more

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