US hotline for grouses over China's trade practices
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WASHINGTON • The US Trade Representative's (USTR) office said on Friday that it has established a dispute resolution office and complaint hotline to enforce President Donald Trump's phase one trade deal with China, which took effect yesterday.
Deputy US Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish will head the new office, which will field complaints about China's implementation of the agreement from companies and other interested parties, the agency said in a statement.
"Interested parties may raise their concerns about implementation matters under the phase one agreement by calling 202-395-3900," the USTR said.
Both the United States and China are opening such dispute resolution offices under the deal's enforcement provisions.
Under the dispute settlement process, the two sides will hold a series of escalating consultations over a 90-day period.
If disagreements cannot be resolved by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He, the complaining party will be able to impose new tariffs in an amount equal to the estimated damage from the complaint. The other party can accept the punitive tariffs or quit the agreement.
Some trade experts have said that US companies doing business in China may be reluctant to lodge complaints with the new office, fearing that the Chinese government will put new pressures on them.
REUTERS
