4hw.com.cn: the "301 investigation", which was born in the cold war of the last century, was used many times in the trade disputes between the United States and Japan in the 1980s, and caused strong dissatisfaction from the international community because of its unilateralism.
What event does the US 301 investigation refer to?
The so-called "301 investigation" originates from section 301 of the U.S. trade act of 1974. The clause authorizes U.S. trade representatives to initiate an investigation into 'unreasonable or unfair trade practices' of other countries, and to recommend unilateral sanctions to the president of the United States after the investigation.
'301 investigation' is initiated, investigated, ruled and executed by the United States itself, which has a strong unilateralism. China has repeatedly said that the "301 investigation" violates international trade rules and is not conducive to the interests of both China and the United States and the world. On April 4, China said it would immediately resort to the WTO dispute settlement mechanism for relevant US practices.
The beginning and end of 301 investigation in the United States
On March 22, 2018 local time, President trump of the United States signed a presidential memorandum in Washington, D.C. according to the results of the "301 investigation", a large-scale tariff will be imposed on goods imported from China, and Chinese enterprises will be restricted from investing in the United States.
In fact, as early as January 2000, the WTO passed EU article 301 against the United States, forcing the U.S. government to make a series of commitments. If the U.S. government negates or withdraws these commitments to any extent, the U.S. will bear the national responsibility, and the relevant legal provisions of article 301 will be found to be inconsistent with the relevant provisions.
Tu Xinquan, Dean of the China World Trade Organization Research Institute of the University of foreign economic relations and trade, told chinanews.com that after the U.S. made a commitment at that time, it did not revoke the 301 clause and reserved the 301 clause, but there was a precondition that the implementation of the 301 clause must conform to the relevant rules of the WTO, 'the U.S. can initiate an investigation, but it cannot unilaterally sanction others according to the investigation conclusion. '
For the recent practice of the United States, Pascal Lamy, former Director-General of the WTO, said recently that the self-centered approach of the United States to try to override the rules is anti historical. Even if the United States withdraws from the WTO, other member countries can also rebuild the international trade system; of course, we still hope that the United States can abide by the rules of the WTO.
Pascal bull Lamy believes that 'bowing to protectionist pressure will hurt all of us. In the 21st century, international trade needs rules based games, not strength or power. '