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Bloomberg
Tensions between the US and China are about to get more complicated, with the World Trade Organization poised to begin an investigation into President Donald Trump’s tariffs on $250 billion of
Chinese goods.
On Monday, the Geneva-based arbiter of trade disputes will likely launch an inquiry into whether the US duties run afoul of a requirement that all WTO members give each other the same tariff treatment, as China asserts.
The investigation comes at a delicate moment between the world’s two largest economies. A new round of trade talks is scheduled to begin on January 30, and if a deal isn’t reached by March 1, the Trump administration has threatened to raise the tariff rate on $200 billion in Chinese goods to 25 percent from 10 percent. The WTO is already facing an existential threat over a hold the US has placed on new appellate judge nominations.