EU to file WTO complaint against China

The EU plans to file a complaint with the WTO over China’s tariffs on European steel tube exports, Reuters reported. “We are in the process with [EU Trade Commissioner Karel] De Gucht of filing a complaint, like Japan did, to the World Trade Organization,” Antonio Tajani, the EU’s industry commissioner, said on Wednesday. The complaint will be aimed at overturning the tariffs on the tubes used in power plants. It will claim that the Chinese duties are retaliatory and not based on evidence. Tajani said there would be “new news” on the complaint in the next few days. Trade tension has escalated rapidly between China and the EU since the union imposed tariffs on Chinese solar panels last month.