Korea brings China’s THAAD retaliation to WTO (Korea Times, 2 April 2017)
Korea has filed a formal complaint with a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel against Beijing for its economic retaliation against Seoul’s decision to deploy a U.S. anti-missile system here. The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS), affiliated with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said that it raised issues with China’s trade barriers against Korean companies during a WTO meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, from March 28 to 30. This was the first time for the government to officially take issue with China’s retaliatory actions against Lotte group and other Korean companies operating in the world’s No. 2 economy. The agency asked the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) committee to deal with three trade barriers imposed by Beijing as specific trade concerns. WTO member countries can request the TBT committee to review trade policies taken by trading partners as to whether they impede imports of certain goods. KATS filed a complaint against China’s policies restricting the sales of baby formula and medical equipment by foreign businesses.