WTO observers hope for smooth dispute process as U.S. maintains China’s NME status

The Commerce Department is unwilling to label China a market economy for the purposes of antidumping investigations, while Beijing believes the U.S. is obligated to do so under provisions of its World Trade Organization Accession Protocol that expired on Dec. 11, and immediately requested consultations with the U.S. at the WTO. Observers of the WTO, including the multilateral body’s Deputy Director General Yi Xiaozhun, hoped for and predicted smooth dispute settlement proceedings. “The issue will be raised to the WTO...