China blocked the establishment of a World Trade Organization investigation into U.S. and Mexican allegations of subsidies for a range of Chinese industries, officials said Tuesday, according to AP. But investigative panels examining U.S. and Mexican arguments will almost certainly be established at the next meeting in September of the WTO's dispute settlement body. Under WTO rules, a second request for a formal investigation is automatically granted. The U.S. accuses Beijing of using WTO-illegal tax breaks to encourage Chinese companies to export more to the United States while imposing tax and tariff penalties to limit purchases of U.S. products in China. «China is providing numerous subsidies that appear to be prohibited under WTO rules,» U.S. trade lawyer Juan Millan told the WTO's dispute body. «China offers tax refunds, reductions and exemptions that discriminate against imported products ... or that subsidize China's exports.» Mexico said it shared Washington's views and, like the U.S., hoped that the WTO could merge both of their complaints into a single investigation. Beijing rejected all claims of wrongdoing. «We are puzzled by the complainants' decision to initiate the panel process,» China said after the U.S. and Mexico spoke. «Measures identified by the complainants are fully consistent with WTO subsidy rules. Furthermore, the inclusion of several nonexistent measures could only prove the misunderstanding and 'misallegation' of the complainants.»
