The U.S. said it will combat the “distortions” to the world economy created by China’s economic system, especially in markets for steel and aluminum.
In a report to Congress, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said its primary goal is to defend the government’s ability to impose duties on China for dumping goods at artificially low prices or unfairly subsidizing Chinese firms. China’s economic system, which doesn’t operate based on market principles, is hurting American workers and industries, USTR said a report on its enforcement priorities to the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees.
“The international steel and aluminum markets, for example, are currently experiencing significant oversupply due in large part to production from excessive and uneconomic capacity in China,” USTR said in the report, which was dated July 2017 and obtained by Bloomberg News. “This oversupply has caused severe market distortions, including the suppression of U.S. and global prices, and the displacement of U.S. exports in foreign markets.”
