Hey there! Did you know that countries sometimes disagree about trade? Well, China and the United States are having a bit of a disagreement right now.
On Thursday, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced that China has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Why? Because the U.S. added extra taxes, called tariffs, on goods coming from China. China believes these tariffs aren’t fair and break the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The WTO is like a big international club where countries agree on how to trade with each other. If members have a problem, they can ask the WTO to help sort it out.
He Yadong, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce, said that the U.S. actions are examples of unilateralism (when a country acts alone without considering others) and protectionism (when a country tries to protect its own businesses by making it harder for others). He said these actions go against WTO rules.
China has started the official process to resolve this issue through the WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism. The U.S. agreed to have talks about it on March 14, and China will continue to follow the WTO’s procedures.
It’s kind of like when two teammates have a disagreement, and they ask a coach to help them figure it out! Let’s hope they can solve it soon.
Reference(s):
Ministry of Commerce: China has sued the U.S. over additional tariffs
cgtn.com
