by Philip Blenkinsop
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission on Wednesday called for panels to be set up at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over two of its trade disputes with China after failing to resolve them bilaterally.
The disputes, which were both brought to the WTO earlier this year, concern Chinese measures preventing European holders of high-tech patents from having recourse to EU courts to protect their rights, as well as China’s trade restrictions on Lithuanian exports.
The European executive, in charge of overseeing the EU-27’s trade policy, has declared that these two series of measures are harmful to European companies.
According to Brussels, the restrictions imposed by China against Lithuania are discriminatory and affect intra-community trade and supply chains.
The Commission officially made a request for consultations at the WTO on Wednesday, the first stage of a challenge before the international organization responsible for overseeing the rules governing trade between countries.
However, these consultations rarely resolve disputes.
The WTO panel will likely be set up in early 2023, the Commission said, and the panels’ work can last up to a year and a half.
China’s Commerce Ministry said Beijing would handle the request under the WTO’s dispute settlement procedure.
“CHEAPEST ACCESS”
The EU demands come as Brussels reviews its stance on China, which it increasingly sees as a competitor, and as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led leaders Europeans to worry about the bloc’s economic dependence on China.
Beijing has downgraded its diplomatic ties with Lithuania since the Baltic country authorized the opening in Vilnius at the end of 2021 of a de facto embassy from Taiwan, which China considers a rebel province under its control.
According to the Commission, the ban on imports of alcohol, beef, dairy products, logs and peat from Lithuania by China, which puts forward phytosanitary arguments, is not justified.
Regarding patent litigation, the Commission says Chinese courts issue rulings that prevent patent holders from effectively protecting their technologies in non-Chinese jurisdictions, including EU jurisdictions.
“Chinese manufacturers have requested these injunctions to put pressure on patent rights holders and obtain cheaper access to European technology,” the Commission said in a statement.
(Report Philip Blenkinsop; French version Diana Mandiá, editing by Kate Entringer)