CHINA: An Introduction to International Trade/WTO: Respondent (PRC Firms)
International Trade from the Respondents’ Perspective of China: 2024
As global trade steadily recovers in 2024, heightened geopolitical risks and intensified competition among major economies have led to a notable increase in international trade disputes. In terms of performance, this year has seen a significant rise in trade remedy investigations against China, with a total of 154 cases as of November 14th，compared to 87 cases in 2023.
Key Industry: Steel industry becomes new focus of investigation
While only three trade remedy cases were initiated against China’s steel sector in 2023, 28 cases have been launched in 2024. This trend reflects that steel exports remain a key means of addressing the imbalance between supply and demand amid declining domestic steel demand and shrinking profits, and that many countries have implemented more stringent protection measures to support their local steel industries.
Overview of US Trade Measures Against China
In 2024, the United States maintained its approach of frequent anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations and additional Section 301 tariffs on Chinese products, while tightening trade restrictions in strategic sectors such as advanced semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and batteries. For instance, on April 17th, USTR initiated a Section 301 investigation into what it described as 'unfair economic practices' by China in the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors. Following this, on May 14th, the Biden administration announced a substantial increase in tariffs on approximately USD18 billion of Chinese imports, covering high-tech and strategic products like electric vehicles, semiconductors, solar cells, lithium batteries, and critical minerals.
Overview of EU Trade Measures Against China
The EU, in 2024, has similarly increased its anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations against Chinese products, adopting various measures such as the Foreign Subsidies Regulation and restrictions on public procurement to curb the entry of Chinese companies into the EU market.
Anti-Subsidy Investigation on Electric Vehicles
In the EU’s anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations against China in 2024, one of the key issues involved electric vehicles. On 4 October 2023, the European Commission (EC) initiated an anti-subsidy investigation into electric vehicles originating from China. This marked the beginning of further disputes between China and the EU. Despite multiple rounds of negotiations, the EC decided to impose anti-subsidy duties on these vehicles on 29 October 2024. On November 4th, China formally brought the EU’s preliminary anti-subsidy measures to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR)
Published by the EC in 2022, the FSR aims to regulate foreign subsidies across various economic activities, including trade in goods, public procurement and mergers. In 2024, the EC launched several investigations under the FSR framework into Chinese companies, with some in-depth investigations and inspections.
In February 2024, the EC initiated its first investigation under the FSR against CRRC Qingdao Sifang, ultimately forcing CRRC to withdraw from a public procurement tender by Bulgaria’s Ministry of Transport and Communications. The Commission also conducted in-depth investigations into Chinese wind turbine manufacturers, examining the application of their turbines in wind farms in Spain, Greece, and France, as well as scrutinising Longi and Shanghai Electric for participation in public procurement tenders for photovoltaic parks in Romania. Additionally, the Commission performed a FSR inspection on Nuctech, demanding access to data stored in China.
In addition, a number of investment and M&A projects involving Chinese companies have also been affected by the FSR investigations. For instance, Haier’s acquisition of Purmo has encountered significant uncertainty due to combined pressure from the FSR and the Purmo board.
Restrictions on the Public Procurement Market
In June 2022, the EU passed the International Procurement Instrument (“IPI”), empowering the EC to investigate unfair conditions affecting EU access to non-EU procurement markets. On 24 April 2024, the Commission launched its first IPI investigation into China’s public procurement market for medical devices.
On the other hand, on 22 October 2024, the European Court of Justice, in the case of Kolin v Državna (Case No C-652/22), ruled that companies from China and other non-contracting states to the WTO’s Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) are not entitled, under EU law, to participate in EU public procurement activities. While the Court left the decision to individual EU member states on whether to permit companies from non-GPA countries in public procurement processes, it did not rule out the possibility of further restrictions on Chinese companies’ access to the EU procurement market.
Growing Scrutiny on Chinese Industry Relocations by the US and EU
As China’s domestic manufacturing sector continues to expand, considerations of labour costs and the need to avoid trade sanctions have driven the gradual shift of Chinese manufacturing overseas. Countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam have become preferred destinations for China’s industrial relocation due to their favourable tariff policies and competitive labour costs.
However, as Chinese manufacturing moves abroad, the scrutiny from the US and European countries has also extended to these new investment locations. A notable example is the US’s anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation initiated in May 2024 into photovoltaic products from four Southeast Asian countries. This increasing attention from the US and EU on Chinese industry relocation may gradually undermine the tariff advantages in Southeast Asia.
Overview of China’s Trade Remedy Measures
In 2024, China launched 14 primary trade remedy cases globally, mainly targeting the EU (five cases), Canada (three), Japan (two), India (two), Taiwan (one), and the United States (one). This marked a substantial increase compared to the two cases launched in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
This surge appears to be China’s response to unfair tariff treatment from the EU, Canada, and other jurisdictions. China’s investigations focused on products such as dairy, pork, and brandy, alongside trade and investment barriers impacting sectors like railway locomotives, photovoltaic equipment, wind energy, and security screening devices. Of the eight cases brought to the WTO in 2024, China acted as the complainant in four cases, challenging tax measures on Chinese electric vehicles imposed by the EU, Canada, and Turkey.
Conclusion
In the post-COVID era, the combination of economic recovery abroad, a resurgence of trade protectionism, deglobalisation pressures, and major election years has created unprecedented challenges for China in terms of both the volume of trade disputes and the expansion of trade barrier tools. Additionally, this trend shows little sign of easing in the near term.
中国应诉视角下的国际贸易：2024
2024年全球贸易持续复苏，但地缘政治风险与大国竞争加剧也使得国际贸易争端日趋激烈。作为表现，截至11月14日，2024年全球对中国发起的贸易救济调查总计155起，与2023年的87起应诉案件相比出现了大幅增长。
焦点行业：钢铁工业成为调查的新焦点
全球各国对我国钢铁工业在2023年仅发起了3起贸易救济案件，而在2024年累计发起了28起。这一趋势反映了钢材出口在中国国内钢材需求下滑、利润缩减的背景下依然是国内解决供需矛盾的重要途径之一，以及各国为支持本土钢铁产业采取了更为强化的保护措施。
美国对华贸易措施概览
2024年美国在贸易措施上延续了以往对华产品频繁展开双反调查、征收301额外关税等一贯做法，同时在先进半导体、人工智能、电池等关键领域采取了更严格的贸易限制措施。4月17日，美国贸易代表办公室宣布对中国在海事、物流和造船业存在的所谓“不公平经济行为”发起301调查。5月14日，拜登政府宣布对约180亿美元中国进口产品再次大幅提高301关税，涉及电动车、半导体、太阳能电池锂电池和关键矿物等高科技及战略产品。
欧盟对华贸易措施概览
2024年，欧盟增加了对中国发起的双反调查，同时通过《外国补贴条例》适用及公共采购限制等手段遏制中国企业进入欧盟市场。
纯电动汽车反补贴调查案
欧盟2024年对中国发起双反调查的焦点案件之一为纯电动汽车反补贴调查案。2023年10月4日，欧盟委员会（“欧委会”）依职权主动对原产于中国的电动汽车发起反补贴调查。这是中国与欧盟后续争议的开端。尽管经过双方数轮谈判，2024年10月29日，欧委会决定对中国电动汽车征收反补贴税。11月4日，中国将欧盟电动汽车反补贴初裁措施起诉至世界贸易组织（“WTO”）。
《外国补贴条例》
《外国补贴条例》于2022年由欧委会发布，旨在约束货物贸易、公共采购和并购等多种经济活动中存在的外国补贴。2024年，欧委会针对中国企业发起了多起《外国补贴条例》框架下的“深入调查”和依职权主动调查、突袭检查。
2024年2月，欧委会针对中车青岛四方机车发起了首个《外国补贴条例》下的调查，最终迫使中车公司退出保加利亚交通和通讯部的公共采购招标。同时，欧委会对中国风力涡轮机制造企业及其在西班牙、希腊、法国等地的风力发电厂的应用，以及参与罗马尼亚光伏园区公共采购竞标项目的隆基和上海电气均开展深入调查，并对同方威视进行FSR突击检查且要求访问其存储在中国的数据。
此外，多起涉及中国企业的投资并购项目也受到外国补贴条例调查的影响。例如，来自《外国补贴条例》和Purmo公司董事会的双重压力使得海尔收购Purmo的交易充满不确定性。
限制政府采购市场
2022年6月，欧盟通过了《IPI法规》，授权欧委会调查对欧盟进入非欧盟采购市场的不公正情况。2024年4月24日，欧委会对中国医疗器械公共采购市场启动了首起IPI调查。
此外，2024年10月22日，欧盟最高法院在Kolin v. Državna案（Case No.C-652/22）中作出判决，认定来自中国等非WTO《政府采购协定》（“GPA”）缔约国的公司无权根据欧盟法律参与欧盟政府采购市场活动。虽然欧盟法院仍允许欧盟成员国自主决定是否允许非GPA缔约方企业参与政府采购程序，但不排除未来欧盟政府采购市场对中国企业继续设限的可能。
四、美欧等国对中国产业转移逐步加大调查力度
随着中国国内制造业规模不断扩大，出于人力成本和规避贸易制裁等考量，中国制造业逐渐向外部转移。印尼、马来西亚、柬埔寨、泰国和越南凭借贸易关税政策优势和劳动力成本的竞争力成为了中国制造业产业转移首选地。
然而，随着中国制造业产业转移的脚步，欧美等国家对制造业的封堵也开始蔓延至投资目的地。其中典型的调查包括2024年5月美国对东南亚四国光伏产品展开的双反调查。美国和欧盟对中国产业转移的关注可能会逐步削弱东南亚地区的贸易关税优势。
五、中国贸易救济措施概览
2024年，中国对全球发起的原审贸易救济案件中总计14起，主要针对欧盟（5起），加拿大（3起），日本、印度（各2起），台湾地区和美国（各1起）；相比于2022年、2023年各发起的2起贸易救济案件，案件量大幅增加。
究其原因，中国政府似乎在通过发起调查反制欧盟、加拿大等国家/地区对华的不公正关税待遇。中国针对欧盟调查的产品包括乳制品、猪肉产品和白兰地等。除了对部分产品发起调查，中国还针对欧盟采取贸易投资壁垒的行为启动调查，主要涉及铁路机车、光伏、风电、安检设备等产品。同时，2024年，在诉诸WTO的8起案件中有4起由中国作为申诉方；中国主要就欧盟、加拿大、土耳其对华电动汽车的征税措施进行了相关申诉。
六、结论
后新冠时代境外经济复苏、贸易保护和去全球化浪潮的回归，及主要经济体总统大选年等因素的叠加，使得2024年对中国而言无论在贸易摩擦数量和贸易壁垒工具的延伸方面都面临着前所未有的挑战，而该趋势在短期内似乎没有回落的趋势。