Industry News

USTR Calls for Comments on China WTO Case

June 25, 2012


On June 22, 2012, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) issued a notice stating that China has requested consultations with the United States concerning certain countervailing duty determinations and orders issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC). Furthermore, the Office of the USTR invited interested persons to submit written comments regarding the issues raised in the dispute on or before July 22, 2012.

On May 25, 2012, China requested consultations concerning the preliminary and final countervailing duty determinations and countervailing duty orders issued by the DOC on the following imports from China:

  • Lightweight Thermal Paper
  • Circular Welded Austenitic
  • Certain Circular Welded Carbon Quality Steel Line Pipe
  • Citric Acid and Certain Citrate Salts
  • Certain Tow Behind Lawn Groomers and Certain Parts Thereof
  • Certain Kitchen Appliance Shelving and Racks
  • Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods
  • Pre-Stressed Concrete Steel Wire Strand
  • Certain Steel Grating
  • Wire Decking
  • Certain magnesia Carbon Bricks
  • Certain Seamless Carbon and Alloy Steel Standard Lind and Pressure Pipe
  • Certain Coated paper Suitable for High-Quality Print Graphics Using Sheet-Fed Presses
  • Drill Pipe
  • Aluminum Extrusions
  • Multilayered Wood Flooring
  • Certain Steel Wheels
  • Steel Wire
  • High Pressure Steel Cylinders
  • Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells
  • Utility Scale Wind Towers
  • Drawn Stainless Steel Sinks

China also requested consultations with regards to the DOC’s use of “rebuttable presumption,” under which the DOC considers majority government ownership of an enterprise sufficient to determine that an enterprise is a “public body” within the meaning of Article 1.1 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, unless the party is able to demonstrate that majority government ownership does not result in “control” of the enterprise.

For further information, or assistance submitting a comment, please contact a Barnes/Richardson attorney.