OREANDA-NEWS  China has activated the dispute resolution mechanism of the World Trade Organization (WTO) due to the increase in duties on Chinese goods by the United States. This was announced by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China.

"China has filed a lawsuit against the United States under the WTO dispute settlement mechanism in connection with the latest increase in duties by the United States," the ministry said in a statement. "Unilateral US tariff measures seriously violate WTO rules and undermine the foundation of trade and economic cooperation between China and the United States."

Earlier, US President Donald Trump signed a decree increasing duties on Chinese imports from 10% to 20% due to the fact that Beijing allegedly is not taking enough measures to combat the smuggling of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the United States. At the same time, the owner of the White House expressed the opinion that China would not radically respond to the use of protective customs duties.