W.T.O. Rejects Chinese Claims in Dispute Over Duties

A World Trade Organization panel on Friday largely rejected Chinese claims in a dispute with the United States over additional duties on Chinese goods, which Washington argued were priced at below cost and subsidized.

United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk welcomed the ruling as a win for American businesses and workers affected by unfairly traded imports.

The case involved treatment of goods from a country that is not a market economy, where the state sets or influences prices.

The ruling backed the right of an importer to set duties on goods from such economies to compensate for unfair pricing and for subsidies — something that a United States court had struck down.

The two-year-old dispute turned on duties imposed by the United States on imports of Chinese steel pipes, off-road tires and woven sacks.

The panel did back some Chinese complaints and called on the United States to bring its measures in line with W.T.O. rules where they breached them.

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