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A logo of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is seen in Geneva, Switzerland, on April 5, 2023. (Photo: Xinhua)

 
China on Wednesday voiced grave concerns over the US' "reciprocal tariffs" and their detrimental impacts, urging the US to comply with the WTO rules to avoid adverse impact on global economic stability and the multilateral trading system at the first annual session of the WTO Council for Trade in Goods at Geneva, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

China's statement resonated well, with 46 WTO members echoing its stance during the meeting, expressing concerns with the US' "reciprocal tariffs" and calling on the US to comply with the WTO rules, Xinhua reported.

China pointed out that the WTO-centered multilateral trading system serves as the institutional foundation for global trade, and multilateral tariff commitment based on the most-favored-nation (MFN) treatment ensures that all WTO members conduct trade and cooperation in a transparent, predictable and non-discriminatory environment, Xinhua said.

However, US' so-called "reciprocal tariffs" far exceed the bound tariff rates the US committed at the WTO and that imposing discriminatory tariffs violates the MFN principle, which represents the US' unilateralism, protectionism, and economic coercion, Xinhua reported.

The US is the creator and a main beneficiary of multilateral trading system, and it is overly simplistic to evaluate the US' overall gains from international trade by assessing balance in goods trade, the Chinese side stated, according to Xinhua.

The "reciprocal tariffs" are a "misguided and counterproductive" approach that not only fails to resolve trade imbalances but will also backfire on the US itself, severely disrupting international trade order. There is no winner in a trade war. China calls on all WTO members to draw lessons from history, uphold and safeguard multilateral trade rules, and resolve differences through multilateral dialogue and cooperation, Xinhua reported.

The EU stated that US' "reciprocal tariffs" seriously undermine the fundamental principles of WTO and are ineffective in addressing trade imbalances. Other WTO members including the UK, Canada, Japan, and South Korea criticized that "reciprocal tariffs" disrupt international trade order, undermine the stability of global industrial and supply chains, and will harm the interests of producers and consumers across nations - including the US itself, Xinhua reported.

WTO members including Peru, Kazakhstan, and Chad condemned "reciprocal tariffs" for severely impacting economically vulnerable developing members, particularly the least-developed countries, and they stressed the critical importance of upholding fair, open, transparent, inclusive, and non-discriminatory multilateral trade rules for the interests of developing members, Xinhua said.

WTO members noted that the WTO-centered multilateral trading system has made significant contributions to global trade development and will continue to actively support its role. They urged all members to resolve disputes within the multilateral framework, according to Xinhua.

Global Times