The Ministry of Commerce of China said today that China appreciates WTO's decision to support part of China's appeal but regrets WTO upholding of other rulings in auto parts disputes with the US, EU and Canada.
Yao Jian, spokesperson of the Commerce Ministry, stated that China has noticed the report issued by WTO Appellate Body on Dec. 15 supports China's appeal concerning the import tariffs of completely knocked down (CKD) and semi-knocked down (SKD) and reverses the Panel's reports of the US and Canada on this issue.
However, the Appellate Body upholds the other parts of the Panels' findings which accuse China's auto parts import tariff of inconsistency with its WTO commitment. And China expresses its regret over that ruling, said the spokesman.
Imported complete vehicles are subject to 25 percent of tariff while the tariff on auto parts is only 10 percent. According to the regulations effective since April 2005, imports of auto parts which are valued 60 percent or more than that of a complete automobile are regarded as a complete automobile and thus the 25 percent tariff treatment are applied.
China has explained that the measures are designed to prevent tax evasion by companies importing whole automobiles as auto parts to take the advantage of lower tariffs.
The US, EU and Canada took their complaints against China's measures to the WTO in 2006, accusing China of trade barriers on auto parts imports. A WTO panel ruled in July 2008 that the tariffs imposed by China on its auto parts import are inconsistent with the WTO rules and China's WTO commitments. China appealed the panel's conclusion in September.
By People's Daily Online
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