Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) The European Commission called for the establishment of two World Trade Organization (WTO) panels against China to resolve trade disputes.
The body pointed out in a statement released on Wednesday that China’s trade restrictions against Lithuania are illegal, reminding that Beijing introduced the restrictions at the end of 2021.
The other objection is to China’s restrictions against EU patent holders, with the EC stressing that the country is restricting patent holders’ access to EU courts which prevents them from protecting their rights.
Valdis Dombrovskis, European Commissioner for Trade, noted that “China is a major trading partner for the EU, which brings clear economic benefits to both sides.”
“Good partners treat each other with respect and should adhere to fair play,” he stressed and added “it is therefore our duty to stand up for our rights when China violates global trade rules or subjects an EU member state to economic coercion, affecting our single market.”
EU exhausted other options
Dombrovskis reminded that the EU tried to solve the two issues through consultations with China “and we have invested a considerable amount of time in doing so… however, this was to no avail.”
He concluded that the bloc has no choice but to call for the two WTO processes against China.
The EC pointed out that China’s discriminatory measures against Lithuania have negative effects on “intra-EU trade and intra-EU supply chains,” stressing that scrapping of these measures is in the bloc’s interest.
Beijing introduced the measures in response to Lithuania’s warming relations with Taiwan, with the EC stressing that the measures are coercive and unjustified.
The Commission noted that China introduced “anti-suit injunctions” in 2020, which prevents patent holders from defending their rights in non-Chinese courts.
“Violation of these anti-suit injunctions leads to fines of up to 130,000 euro per day,” the EC pointed out and stressed that Chinese regulations prevent EU companies from trying to protect their patent rights in courts outside China.
The body warned that Chinese measures are not in line with WTO rules, stressing that Beijing imposed them unilaterally to benefit Chinese companies at the expense of protection of intellectual property rights and fair trade.
The WTO is to discuss EU’s requests later this month, with the EC noting that panel processes can last up to 18 months.
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