Working together to fight against protectionism

China’s Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization Zhang Xiangchen pointed out at the WTO General Council meeting held in Geneva last week that the recent US-based “aluminum 232” tariff measures for steel and aluminum are not based on “national security” considerations, but on domestic industries. The protection act is essentially a trade protection measure. Zhang Xiangchen stated that the actual limited imports of steel and aluminum tariffs by the United States accounted for only about 5% of the U.S. domestic steel consumption, which was not related to maintaining the so-called "national security." He cited the U.S. Department of Commerce’s investigation report and the U.S. Department of Defense data that the U.S. steel imports accounted for only 16% of its domestic consumption, while nearly 70% of the import volume came from members who were temporarily or permanently exempted from the United States. The US defense industry needs only 3% of its domestic consumption of steel, and its domestic steel production is 28 times that of its defense industry.