The Chinese government wasted no time initiating a dispute at the World Trade Organization against the U.S. and the European Union the day after a provision in its WTO accession protocol expired. The provision permits other WTO members to disregard Chinese prices when determining unfair trade tariffs. By disregarding Chinese prices, the agency charged with determining these duties avoids the distortion of Chinese prices caused by the Chinese government’s role in the economy. Pursuant to the Chinese accession agreement, this provision expired on Dec. 11, 2016. On Dec. 12, China took the first steps towards lodging a formal WTO dispute by filing a request for consultations with the EU (DS516) and the U.S. (DS515).

Originally published in Bloomberg Law International Trade Daily.