US wins trade case against China

[steven johnson]

Source: BBC

The US has won a ruling at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against China's restrictions on the import of American DVDs and other media products.

The WTO ruled that China's current policy of only allowing the goods to be imported by state-run organisations broke global trade agreements.

The WTO also said China was breaking trade rules by preventing US music download firms from offering their services directly to Chinese customers.

Its ruling also covers the export of US books, magazines and computer games to China.



Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8198422.stm

[Demeter]

1. That's Going to Go over Like a Lead Balloon

It's not that China cannot afford to pay retail. It's that they refuse to honor intellectual property rights.

And then there's the always convenient "cultural contamination" and "seditious materials" excuses....

[kentauros]

2. As for the "cultural contamination" and "seditious materials" excuses

doesn't just being a signed member of the WTO override sovereignty and local/national laws? If they want to remain a member of the WTO, they're going to have to abide by these rules that "protect corporate profits above all else".

[FreakinDJ]

3. As if China will honor the ruling

Any Freakin country that allows such masive counterfitting to go on as a daily means of business is going to treat this ruling with the same respect and procedural due process as a "Roll of Northern Bathroom Tissue"

[dipsydoodle]

4. In other news : China regrets ruling in WTO case

China has said it "regretted" a World Trade Organisation decision against its system for the import of American media products.

The ruling ordered China to ease some of its curbs on foreign films, music and print.

But China has insisted its system is fair and warned that it might appeal against the trade body's ruling.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8198706.stm

Given that , for comparison , the EU / USA banana war has been going on for about 10 years now and remains unresolved I wouldn't recommend anyone hold their breath on the China issue. With regard to the bananas - our major supermarkets now only sell Fair Trade bananas anyway so even once resolved we still won't eat those produced by the American owned "blood banana" companies.

[No Elephants]

5. With our massive debt to China, we can't really afford to tick off China. And China is not

going to do anything about this anyway.

[pampango]

6. Kind of begs the question of why we join international organizations in the first place

when we can't force other countries (and they can't force us) to abide by the rules of those international bodies. ;)

If the WTO is toothless with regards to enforcement of its rulings, perhaps the WTO is no big deal. (If there is no penalty for breaking laws in my home town, I don't have to show much respect for the law or have much fear of the judicial system.)

The US could ignore WTO rulings (if it hasn't already), just as China may plan on doing now, and pass whatever tariffs or quotas that we want. What's the WTO going to do about it? If the WTO is such a paper tiger (lots of rules, but no enforcement), then it kind of resembles the image of how the right wing portrays the UN (which they love to demonize and want the US to withdraw from), a large international bureaucracy that gets in the way of the US pursuing its own national interests.