China said it complained about raising US tariffs on solar panels to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, adding to the escalating conflicts with US President Donald Trump on trade and technology. China's Ministry of Commerce said the 30 percent tariffs announced in January violates WTO rules.The fees also apply to imports of solar cells and units from Europe, Canada, Mexico and South Korea, Increasing strained relations with US allies.
Trump defended solar tariffs as necessary to protect US producers, saying import prices were unfairly low due to subsidies and other inappropriate subsidies.
Washington took action under the United States 1974 Act in place of the World Trade Organization. This led to complaints that it undermined the World Trade Organization. US officials say such action is necessary because the WTO lacks the capacity to deal with China's problematic trade methods.
China has tried to portray itself as a defender of the WTO's trade system. It has tried to recruit European governments and other governments as allies against Washington. At the same time, the EU lodged its own WTO complaint in June against China's technology policies, which it said violated Beijing's free trade commitments.
WTO complaints begin with negotiations between the parties to the conflict. If it fails, the case will go to a panel of experts to decide whether the trade controls are illegal.