BEIJING: China said on Monday it had launched a complaint at the World Trade Organization over the approach used by the US and European Union to calculate anti-dumping measures against Chinese exports.
When China joined the WTO in 2001, its accession terms allowed other WTO members to treat it as a non-market economy when assessing dumping duties for 15 years.
That gave trade partners the advantage of using a third country’s prices to gauge whether China was selling its goods below market value.
But part of that clause expired on Dec. 11, which, China says, means trading partners must drop their use of such surrogate pricing.
US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said in November the time was “not ripe” for the US to change the way it evaluates whether China has achieved market economy status, and there was no international trade rules requiring changes in the way US anti-dumping duties are calculated.
China’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement on its website that 15 years on, all WTO members had an obligation to stop using the surrogate country approach.
“Regretfully, the US and European Union have yet to fulfil this obligation,” the ministry said.
The European Commission said it had received the request for consultations, the first step in a WTO dispute.
“We regret that China is launching this dispute now despite the fact that the Commission has already made a proposal to amend the legislation in question,” a commission spokesman said.
The commission proposed last month a new way of treating China, but its plans await approval from the EU’s 28 members and the European Parliament.
Plywood products
Last week it angered Beijing by launching an anti-dumping case under the old system — using the prices of a third country — just days before the Dec. 11 deadline.
Separately, a Chinese ministry official said in another statement a US investigation into what it regards as Chinese dumping of plywood products launched last week amounted to abuse of emergency trade relief measures.
The US and European Union are some of the biggest levellers of anti-dumping measures under this process against China. The measures have seriously affected exports and employment for Chinese firms, the ministry added.
“China reserves the right under WTO rules to resolutely defend its legal rights,” it added.
The US has repeatedly argued that China’s market reforms have fallen short of expectations, especially in aluminum and steel, where state intervention has led to overcapacity, threatening industries around the world.
![]()
China launches WTO complaint against US and EU over dumping rules
China launches WTO complaint against US and EU over dumping rules
Oil prices rise sharply after attacks in Middle East disrupt global energy supply
NEW YORK: Oil prices rose sharply Monday as US and Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliatory strikes against Israel and US military installations around the Gulf sent disruptions through the global energy supply chain.
Traders were betting the supply of oil from Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East would slow or grind to a halt. Attacks throughout the region, including on two vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Arabian Gulf, have restricted countries’ ability to export oil to the rest of the world. Prolonged attacks would likely result in higher prices for crude oil and gasoline, according to energy experts.
West Texas Intermediate, the light, sweet crude oil produced in the United States, was selling for about $72 a barrel early Monday, up around 7.3 percent from its trading price of about $67 on Friday, according to data from CME group.
A barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at $78.55 per barrel early Monday, according to FactSet, up 7.8 percent from its trading price of $72.87 on Friday, which had been a seven-month high at the time.
Higher global energy prices could lead to consumers paying more for gasoline at the pump and shelling out more for groceries and other goods, at a time when many are already feeling the impacts of elevated inflation.
Roughly 15 million barrels of crude oil per day — about 20 percent of the world’s oil — are shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, making it the world’s most critical oil chokepoint, according to Rystad Energy. Tankers traveling through the strait, which is bordered in the north by Iran, carry oil and gas from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE and Iran.
Iran had temporarily shut down parts of the strait in mid-February for what it said was a military drill, which led oil prices to jump about 6 percent higher in the days that followed.
Against that backdrop, eight countries that are part of the OPEC+ oil cartel announced they would boost production of crude Sunday. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, in a meeting planned before the war began, said it would increase production by 206,000 barrels per day in April, which was more than analysts had been expecting. The countries boosting output include Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman.
“Roughly one-fifth of global oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for world trade, meaning markets are more concerned with whether barrels can move than with spare capacity on paper,” said Jorge León, Rystad’s senior vice president and head of geopolitical analysis, in an email. “If flows through the Gulf are constrained, additional production will provide limited immediate relief, making access to export routes far more important than headline output targets.”
Iran exports roughly 1.6 million barrels of oil a day, mostly to China, which may need to look elsewhere for supply if Iran’s exports are disrupted, another factor that could increase energy prices.
Traders were betting the supply of oil from Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East would slow or grind to a halt. Attacks throughout the region, including on two vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Arabian Gulf, have restricted countries’ ability to export oil to the rest of the world. Prolonged attacks would likely result in higher prices for crude oil and gasoline, according to energy experts.
West Texas Intermediate, the light, sweet crude oil produced in the United States, was selling for about $72 a barrel early Monday, up around 7.3 percent from its trading price of about $67 on Friday, according to data from CME group.
A barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at $78.55 per barrel early Monday, according to FactSet, up 7.8 percent from its trading price of $72.87 on Friday, which had been a seven-month high at the time.
Higher global energy prices could lead to consumers paying more for gasoline at the pump and shelling out more for groceries and other goods, at a time when many are already feeling the impacts of elevated inflation.
Roughly 15 million barrels of crude oil per day — about 20 percent of the world’s oil — are shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, making it the world’s most critical oil chokepoint, according to Rystad Energy. Tankers traveling through the strait, which is bordered in the north by Iran, carry oil and gas from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE and Iran.
Iran had temporarily shut down parts of the strait in mid-February for what it said was a military drill, which led oil prices to jump about 6 percent higher in the days that followed.
Against that backdrop, eight countries that are part of the OPEC+ oil cartel announced they would boost production of crude Sunday. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, in a meeting planned before the war began, said it would increase production by 206,000 barrels per day in April, which was more than analysts had been expecting. The countries boosting output include Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman.
“Roughly one-fifth of global oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for world trade, meaning markets are more concerned with whether barrels can move than with spare capacity on paper,” said Jorge León, Rystad’s senior vice president and head of geopolitical analysis, in an email. “If flows through the Gulf are constrained, additional production will provide limited immediate relief, making access to export routes far more important than headline output targets.”
Iran exports roughly 1.6 million barrels of oil a day, mostly to China, which may need to look elsewhere for supply if Iran’s exports are disrupted, another factor that could increase energy prices.
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.