The US has agreed to negotiations with China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding the two sides’ ongoing trade tensions, filings at the WTO show.
China requested talks with the US under the WTO dispute settlement mechanism earlier this month, according to Caixin Global. But the two sides are yet to begin negotiations, Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng confirmed Thursday.
This may be about to change, as filings from the US state that it is willing to formally consult China regarding the trade issues. However, the filings also insist that WTO rules don’t support China’s requests for negotiations over the tariffs recently imposed on steel and aluminum products or the threatened tariffs on $150 billion worth of imports, which are justified based on China’s alleged intellectual property theft.