World Trade Organization

In filing its first major complaint of unfair trade practices by accusing China of restricting competitors' access to raw materials, the Obama administration raised hopes among U.S. manufacturers and unions that it would move aggressively to defend their interests in the global economy. But whether the complaint filed Tuesday on behalf of U.S.

The World Trade Organization made public its first official condemnation of Chinese commercial practices Friday, releasing a February ruling that sided with the United States, the European Union and Canada in a dispute over car parts. The verdict found that China was breaking trade rules by taxing imports of auto parts at the same rate as foreign-made finished cars. The three-member WTO panel ruled against China on nearly every point of contention with the U.S., the 27-nation EU and Canada.

After coming tantalizingly close to a historic trade deal, World Trade Organization talks collapsed Tuesday in a dismaying blow to seven years of efforts to open up the global economy. Once promised as a recipe for lifting millions of people out of poverty, the end to nine days of high-level talks left no new trade openings for farmers and manufacturers, no global economic boost and no grand deal for Third World development. It was by all accounts a disaster.

The World Trade Organization has partly sided with the U.S. in a dispute with China over product piracy, officials said Thursday. The WTO panel faulted China for not prosecuting pirates who copy fewer CDs and DVDs than others, said one trade diplomat who had reviewed the interim ruling. The U.S.

Canada has lodged a complaint against the U.S. over what it claims are illegal handouts to corn growers, and is challenging whether the billions of dollars in overall farm subsidies by the U.S. government complies with international commerce rules. The request for consultations, filed Monday with the World Trade Organization, could open a new trade dispute between two countries that only recently resolved a long and at times bitter confrontation over softwood lumber.

The World Trade Organization on Tuesday ruled that the U.S. had applied unfair anti-dumping duties on a number of goods, overturning an earlier decision that its tariff rates on some carbon steel products and ball bearings were in line with international trade rules. The decision was a victory for Japan, which challenged the U.S. over the way it sets dumping fees.

The Bush administration filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization on Friday accusing Beijing of providing Chinese companies with improper subsidies that hurt U.S. firms. The action came as the administration faced increased pressure from the Democratic-controlled Congress to do something about the nation's soaring trade deficits and lost manufacturing jobs, which critics blame in part on unfair trade practices by foreign countries.

Mexico on Monday became the latest nation to file a complaint with the World Trade Organization over the Chinese government's alleged payment of illegal subsidies to manufacturers. The action signals Mexico's growing frustration with a flood of Chinese imports, which has led to a soaring trade deficit with Beijing.

The U.S. has failed to change its ban on Internet betting to comply with a World Trade Organization ruling that said federal law unfairly targeted offshore casinos, the trade body said Friday. The ruling opens the door to possible sanctions against the U.S. In a 215-page decision, a three-member WTO compliance panel sided with the twin-island Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda, which has argued that Internet gambling is a lucrative source of revenue for islanders.