TRADE CASES HEADLINESTrade Cases
American Steel Industry Supports WTO Decision on Chinese Export Policies
Jan. 31, 2012 The American Iron and Steel Institute, the Steel Manufacturers Association, the Specialty Steel Industry of North America, the Committee on Pipe and Tube Imports, and the United Steelworkers have expressed their support for a favorable decision by the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding China’s export policies.
The decision held that China’s restraints on exports of various raw materials violated its WTO obligations. The United States, the European Union, and Mexico had challenged China’s application of export quotas, export taxes, and other export restraints on bauxite, coke, fluorspar, magnesium, manganese, silicon carbide, silicon metal, yellow phosphorus, and zinc—materials that are used to make steel and other manufactured goods.
The Appellate Body decision upheld the key findings in an earlier decision by a WTO Dispute Settlement Panel. The Appellate Body recognized that China’s restraints on exports fundamentally contravene the obligations China assumed when it joined the WTO.
The American Iron and Steel Institute, the Steel Manufacturers Association, the Specialty Steel Industry of North America, and the Committee on Pipe and Tube Imports represent the producers of the vast majority of steel made in North America. The United Steel Workers represents workers in the steel industry in the United States and Canada, as well as in a range of other industries.