WTO to rule in spat over US tariffs

The DSB agreed Wednesday to Washington’s request for three panels to rule on the legality of retaliatory tariffs imposed by Canada, China and the European Union.

It also agreed to a US call for a panel to be created to review “certain Chinese measures pertaining to the protection of intellectual property rights.”

Marking a departure from a decades-long US-led drive for free trade, Trump has justified the steep tariffs with claims that massive flows of imports to the United States threaten national security.

The tariff spat has escalated into an all-out trade war between the US and China and growing trade tensions between Washington and many of its traditional allies.

The decision to establish the panels follows rounds of failed consultations between the parties and mark an escalation in an ongoing showdown at the WTO around Trump’s controversial trade policies.

The first requests to establish the panels were rejected last month, prompting the sides to file second requests.

Under WTO regulations, parties in a dispute can block a first request for the creation of an arbitration panel, but if the parties make a second request, it is all but guaranteed to go through.

The creation of a DSB panel usually triggers a long and often costly legal battle that sometimes takes years to resolve.