The Obama administration filed an automobile-related complaint against China at the World Trade Organization on Monday, accusing it of illegally subsidizing exports of automobiles and auto parts, Bloomberg reported.
The complaint accuses China of $1 billion in illegal subsidies between 2009 and 2011 that benefit as much as 60% of Chinese auto-parts exports, Bloomberg said.
The aid amounted to at least $1 billion between 2009 and 2011 and benefited as much as 60% of Chinese car-parts exports, putting U.S. component manufacturers at a competitive disadvantage, encouraging the outsourcing of car-parts production to China, the complaint said.
This latest case to go before the WTO in Geneva is being announced as Obama returns to Ohio — a November election a battleground state — with 54,200 residents employed by the auto-parts industry and 12.4% of the state’s total employment related to the auto industry, Bloomberg reported.
The challenge is the 15th lodged by the U.S. against China, which joined the Geneva-based trade arbiter in December 2001, and means the two governments must hold talks for at least two months in a bid to resolve the matter, Bloomberg reported. If the discussions fail, the U.S. can ask WTO judges to rule.
