China asks WTO to set up panel for US electric vehicle subsidies dispute

China has appealed against subsidies granted to the US electric vehicle industry under President Joe Biden's green plan, accusing Washington of implementing "discriminatory, protectionist" policies, the commerce ministry said Monday.

The world's second-largest economy brought the dispute before the World Trade Organization in March, but following the failure of negotiations with Washington, it asked the WTO to "set up a panel of experts" to probe the issue, the ministry said.

In 2022, the United States announced a massive aid programme to support companies in the energy transition sector and electric cars manufactured on American soil.

The move was meant to counter Beijing's subsidies for electric vehicles and the wider green industry within China, which has poured vast state funds into domestic firms as well as research and development.

China has denied that its industrial policies are unfair and has repeatedly threatened retaliation to safeguard its companies' legal rights and interests.

"No matter how one tries to package and embellish this law, it cannot change the discriminatory, protectionist" subsidies it calls for which violate WTO rules, Beijing's commerce ministry said in a statement.

It added that the US law excludes "products from China and other WTO members, artificially sets trade barriers and pushes up the costs of the green energy transition".

The WTO dispute comes at a time when Beijing and Washington are locking horns over a series of trade issues, including customs duties, cutting-edge technologies and a possible ban on social media site TikTok.

"We once again urge the US to abide by WTO rules and stop abusing industrial policies to undermine international cooperation on climate change," the commerce ministry said.

The United States had already announced in May that it was quadrupling customs duties on imported Chinese electric vehicles, with economic competition with Beijing at the heart of the US presidential campaign.

The European Union (EU) also imposed up to 38 percent additional customs duties on imports of Chinese electric cars in July, the prices of which Brussels considers to be artificially low as a result of state subsidies.

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