中美贸易争端中的焦点法律问题评析

Analysis on Key Legal Issues Arising from the Trade Conflicts between US and China

WTO协定原则上禁止单边措施,但也存在允许成员采取特定单边措施以维护其WTO协定下权益的例外。通过回顾中美贸易争端的历程可知,美国232措施构成对中国的歧视性保障措施,而301措施属于被WTO协定禁止的单边措施,中国对此采取的反制措施应对得当、有理有据,特别是成功地将美国的单边措施和行为拖入多边领域和框架下进行审查和批判。

It is a general principle that WTO Members shall not impose unilateral measures.But there are exceptions for WTO Members to impose unilateral measures in order to protect their rights and benefits under the WTO Agreement,as long as those measures are in compliance with WTO rules. However,the abuse of unilateralmeasures,in particular a unilateral measure that is a disguised trade protective measure under the name of WTO rules,for example the 232 measure that has been imposed and 301 measure that is potentially to be imposed by the United States,will seriously damage the WTO rules system.Any Member that is affected by unilateral measures taken by oth-er Members,has the fight to resort to WTO rules for remedies.These remedies include not only bringing a dispute under the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism,but also utilizing the authorization under the WTO rules to suspend its concession obligation,as well as taking unilateral trade enforcement instruments which are in compliance with WTO rules to counter the unilateral measures taken by other Members.Overall,from the legal perspective,China's response to the trade conflicts between the United States and China is appropriate.