For The First Time, The United States Government Officially Opened Its Position Openly And Refused To Recognize China'S Market Economy Status.

There is no criterion of "market economy status" in the WTO rules. However, the United States has repeatedly stirred up the problem of "substitute countries" and "market economy status". The purpose is to try to confuse the public, and China expresses strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition.

For the first time, the US government openly and openly stated its position and refused to recognize China's market economy status.

Yu Shangzhou submitted a 40 page legal application to WTO headquarters against China's automatic access to market economy, including the formulation of industrial policies that are not conducive to foreign enterprises and huge export credits operating in a non market way.

In response, the director of the law department of the Ministry of Commerce said that the document submitted by the US side in the WTO was a written statement submitted by the third party to the case of "substituting state" in China's complaint against EU anti-dumping.

The core of the dispute is whether the EU has the right to continue to use the "alternative country" in China's anti-dumping investigations after December 11, 2016, according to the fifteenth article of China's Accession Protocol.

"The case has nothing to do with" market economy status ". The WTO rules do not have the criteria of" market economy status ". The United States is not the Party of the case. The official said that China has taken the similar approach of the United States to the WTO.

The impact of substitute countries on China

Without recognizing China's market economy status, it means continuing the "alternative country" approach to the "double anti" investigation of Chinese products.

The so called "substitute country" means that the price of similar commodities of a third country or importing country in the market economy is calculated as a normal value by not using the actual cost of Chinese goods.

"A prominent advantage of China's participation in international competition is the rich population resources and low labor costs. The production cost of the same products is often significantly lower than that of the so-called third countries". Liu Shiguo, a researcher at the Institute of world economics and politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Beijing Commercial Daily reporter that this means that when the European and American countries adopt the "alternative country" system to launch a "double reverse" survey on Chinese products, the production cost determined by similar products of third countries will be significantly higher than the actual cost, thus "judging" Chinese enterprises "malicious" to lower prices and implement dumping.

In fact, the tough stance of the United States has long been a harbinger.

By the end of October this year,

The Ministry of Commerce has issued a survey on "China's market economy status" in the anti-dumping investigation of aluminum foil, and still regarded China as a "non market economy country".

Manufacturing industry or impact

Before this formal announcement, the "double counter" stick that the United States frequently waved in recent years has caused a great impact on many industries in China.

Bai Ming, deputy director of the International Market Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, for example, said that in February this year, the US Department of Commerce made a final ruling on the anti-dumping and countervailing investigations of stainless steel plates in China, ruling the high anti-dumping duty rate of Chinese enterprises 63.86%-76.64% and the high countervailing duty rate of 75.6%-190.71%.

"As a result of intensive trade protection measures, China's photovoltaic products, which were once well sold, have been hard to find in the US market," Bai Ming bluntly said.

Statistics show that in 2012 and 2014, the United States announced a "countervailing" investigation and made a ruling on Huaguang Vol. and made a decision in September this year to investigate the global safeguards of photovoltaic cells and components (the "201" survey). The direct result is that the export volume of China's photovoltaic products to the United States dropped by 91% compared with the same period in August.

Based on past experience and lessons, the industry is concerned that after this announcement, the United States will step up its export barriers in other fields and intensify Sino US frictions.

Zhang Jianping, deputy director of the academic committee of the Ministry of Commerce, said that this statement was a procedural response made by the United States after China's appeal to WTO in December last year, that is, it did not recognize China's market economy status. In the future, it will launch a "double anti" investigation on Chinese products through the practice of "alternative countries". "In the future, China's industries with abundant production capacity, or occupying a higher market share, especially in the US market, or competing with the US industry, may become potential targets, such as aluminum products".

According to the General Administration of customs, the volume of trade in goods between China and the United States amounted to $519 billion 600 million last year. Electrical and electrical equipment, audio equipment, machinery and equipment and parts, furniture and spare parts, toys and games supplies and parts, shoes and boots were the products of a larger proportion of China's exports to the United States.

The overall outlook for foreign trade is clear.

Of the main trading partners of China, the United States is not the first country to refuse to abandon its "alternative country" approach to China.

In December last year, Japan, together with China's eastern Asia, publicly stated that it had decided not to recognize China as a "market economy country" and to maintain "anti-dumping duty" mechanism that could impose high tariffs on improper dumping.

In recent years, the EU's attitude has been somewhat "uncertain."

In May last year, the European Parliament refused to recognize China's market economy status with overwhelming votes. In June this year, German Chancellor Merkel publicly indicated that he was willing to urge the EU to fulfill the fifteenth treaties of China's Accession Protocol, while half of the European Union endorsed the economic status of China's market. However, the European Parliament subsequently passed an amendment to the new method of anti-dumping investigation, replacing the list of countries or industries with "serious market distortions" instead of non market economy countries.

"The European Union is a regional organization with 28 member countries. Each member has different profits and losses in the process of economic exchanges with China," Liu Shiguo told the Beijing Commercial Daily.

Zhang Jianping told the Beijing Business Daily reporter that this will not only affect the bilateral trade between China and the three major trading partners, but also have a negative effect on the fragile global economic recovery.

From the current situation, the EU is planning to replace the non market economy with market distortions and related legislation.

Even if the EU's views are not unified, the possibility of recognizing China's market economy status in the short term is unlikely.

In response to concerns that other countries will follow suit, Zhang Jianping said Singapore, South Korea and other major economies have acknowledged China's market economy status.

Members do not have the domestic legislative provisions of the so-called market economy status, so they will not follow suit.

"Compared to the total volume of trade between China and Europe and the United States, the proportion of" double anti "surveys under the surrogate countries is not outstanding, but it conveys a very bad signal.