Washington trade war necessitates revival of WTO Appellate Body

In response to the US imposing unfair massive 104 percent duties on Chinese goods, China announced on Wednesday that it would raise its retaliatory tariffs on imports from the US to 84 percent, effective Thursday.

The US administration is hell-bent on serving its own narrow interests, making the US a dangerous trade partner even for close allies.

In the face of such unjustified tariffs, China approached the Dispute Settlement Mechanism of the World Trade Organization with its complaint. A number of countries targeted by the US administration's reciprocal tariff plan are expected to follow suit. Unfortunately, the WTO's Dispute Settlement Mechanism has since late 2019 been in a limbo because of the US' refusal to approve any proposal to appoint new members to the WTO Appellate Body. The US' stance means that none of the total seven judges who retired on completion of their four-year term could be replaced. In other words, the Appellate Body is paralyzed.