Chinese and American officials sparred over President Donald Trump’s decision to unilaterally impose a new 10 percent tariff on all Chinese goods during a meeting of the World Trade Organization’s General Council on Tuesday, a schism that could put the final nail in the coffin of the rules-based world trading system in the years ahead.
A Chinese representative took the floor to brand Trump’s actions a violation of WTO rules that will heighten economic uncertainty; disrupt trade flows; and risk inflation, market distortions and even a potential global recession, according to a Geneva-based trade official who was granted anonymity to provide information on the closed-door session.
The United States, in response, expressed concern that China continues to operate a non-market economic system and habitually breaks WTO rules, the trade official said. The U.S. also said the WTO’s current inability to address China’s market-distorting policies, such as unfair subsidies, significantly diminishes the effectiveness of the 30-year-old organization.
The verbal sparring follows Trump’s recent decision to raise tariffs on all Chinese goods to try to force Beijing to do more to counter the production of fentanyl and precursor chemicals blamed for tens of thousands of deaths annually in the United States. The new 10 percent duties are in addition to tariffs of 7.5 percent and 25 percent that Trump imposed on more than $300 billion worth of Chinese goods during his first term.
