Beijing an upholder of trade system centered on WTO

Unilateral measures, be they tariffs or economic sanctions against a particular country or particular countries, are often not compatible with World Trade Organization rules. Among all the countries, the United States has taken by far most of the unilateral measures against other countries, be they its perceived adversaries or longstanding allies like Canada and the European Union.

On Feb 1, for example, the US imposed sweeping tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China. These include 25 percent tariffs on most goods from Canada and Mexico, 10 percent on energy imports from Canada, and 10 percent on all Chinese goods. In March the US administration announced to double tariffs on all Chinese imports to 20 percent in excuse of so-called fentanyl abuse.

The moves are in violation of the US' obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 of the WTO. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 as specified in Annex 1A of the WTO is legally distinct from the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade established in 1947, which was replaced by the WTO in 1994.