A COMPLAINT from the United Steelworkers union in the United States about China s clean energy policies was groundless and irresponsible, China s Ministry of Commerce said.
China would protect its own interests according to WTO rules, the ministry said in a statement posted Friday on its Web site. The U.S. Government s agreement to investigate the case was a wrong trade protectionism signal, the ministry said.
The United States acted on a complaint from the steelworkers union that China s aid to its clean-energy producers violates global trade rules. Accepting the petition could lead the Obama administration to file a protest at the World Trade Organization.
Green technology will be an engine for the jobs of the future, and this administration is committed to ensuring a level playing field, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said Thursday, announcing the decision.
The complaint, called a Section 301 filing, is the first filed and accepted by Obama s administration after his predecessor, Republican George W. Bush, turned down trade complaints against China.
China and the United States have pushed development of wind, solar and clean-energy technologies, offering tax breaks and government aid to spur projects. That aid doesn t violate WTO rules, Wang Baodong, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said Thursday.
The environment-friendly green technology policies introduced by the Chinese Government are for the purpose of energy protection and ensuring sustainable development, which are in conformity with WTO rules, Wang said in an e-mail.
(SD-Agencies)
