The World Trade Organization on Monday approved China’s request for a panel to determine whether the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act violates global trade rules, triggering a strong response from the Biden administration, which said it would defend key provisions on national security grounds.
“China’s challenge is particularly hypocritical in light of China’s targeting of clean energy sectors for global dominance,” a U.S. official said during a meeting of the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body, according to comments released by the U.S. Mission in Geneva.
The landmark U.S. clean energy legislation provides subsidies, mostly in the form of tax credits, for electric vehicles and other clean energy priorities. The United States rejected China’s initial request in July to form a panel to hear the dispute. That’s a routine practice available to all WTO members. However, WTO rules do not allow a member to block a second request.
China argued Monday that the U.S. is using climate change as a guise for protectionism by providing subsidies that favor goods made in the United States over imported products, according to a Geneva-based trade official. It also argued the United States, and not China, is the biggest obstacle to global climate cooperation, the official added.
