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China
will meet with the
United States
later this month looking to tackle industrial subsidy complaints made by
Washington
, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
The
US
government filed a complaint on February 2 with the World Trade
Organization, targeting subsidies for domestic industries, claiming this
harms competing US manufacturers.
The
complaints focus on state subsidies for steel, paper, information
technology and other industries, which would allow
China
to export goods on the cheap whilst removing US opportunities to compete
on level ground on international markets.
"
China
has accepted the
US
request for consultation and the two sides will launch talks in
Geneva
in the last 10 days of this month," the ministry told China
Daily yesterday.
Mexico
,
Japan
, the European Union and
Australia
will also participate in the consultations as third-parties.
The
ministry also added that
China
had accepted a request for separate consultations filed by
Mexico
, to be held alongside the Sino-US talks.
Chinese
experts claim that the
US
has not backed up its doubts as to
China
's industrial subsidies with sufficient evidence, and the
United States
along with other developed countries had granted much higher subsidies,
such as export tax rebates, to domestic industries.
According
to WTO regulations, a period of 60 days will be allocated for the two
sides to find common ground. Should this fail, the
United States
may appeal to a WTO dispute settlement panel.
Since
China
acceded to the WTO in 2001, the
US
has referred
China
to the world trade body three times.
US
Trade Representative Susan Schwab also revealed a further case may be
pursued by the
US
relating to piracy and the counterfeiting of American goods in
China
. This was delayed last year after
China
indicated it would do more to allay American fears.
2007-03-07
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