By IANS,
Washington : The US has filed a case against China before the World Trade Organisation (WTO), accusing Beijing of providing unfair government subsidies to Chinese energy companies.
The case was filed Wednesday after America’s United Steelworkers union complained last September that Chinese businesses are able to sell wind and solar equipment in the international market at a cheaper price than their competitors because they receive subsidies, the Washington Post reported.
President Barack Obama administration’s case alleged that the subsidies were in violation of global trade rules.
The two countries are fighting on a number of other trade fronts, from China’s currency regime to barriers China still maintains against US beef imports.
US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said the type of subsidies the Chinese government had employed were “particularly harmful and inherently trade distorting”.
The case with the WTO will first trigger consultations between the two nations, the Post said. If those talks cannot resolve the dispute, the WTO will convene a hearing panel.
If the Obama administration wins the case, the US would be authorised to impose penalty on Chinese products equal to the lost sales that US energy companies are experiencing.
Kirk said that China had agreed last week at a high-level trade meeting in Washington to address some of the grievances raised by the Steelworkers.
“Today’s announcement by the administration comes as an early note of holiday cheer for those workers in the alternative and renewable energy sector,” said Steelworkers’ president Leo W. Gerard in response to the government’s move.