中国在世贸组织的“非市场经济纠纷案”的胜败关乎WTO命运？

　U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer believes the World Trade Organization dispute brought by China against the U.S. over the Commerce Department’s treatment of China as non-market economy in trade remedy cases is a top litigation priority for USTR, telling lawmakers a loss in the dispute would have serious consequences for the WTO.

　　中国向世界贸易组织(WTO)起诉美国商务部在贸易救济案例中将中国作为非市场经济体(NME)一案，引起了美国贸易代表Robert Lighthizer的高度关注。Lighthizer日前对美国法律人士宣称：如美国在本案中败诉，将给WTO带来巨大影响，后果非常严重。

　　Lighthizer also updated senators on the status of deals struck with China under the initial outcomes of a bilateral 100-day plan, as well as additional steps the administration is considering with Beijing.

　　Lighthizer同时向美国参议员汇报了中美贸易“百天计划”的相关情况和初步结果，以及美国政府针对中美贸易摩擦所要采取的其它措施。

　　During a June 21 hearing on President Trump’s trade agenda and budget, Lighthizer told the Senate Finance Committee the non-market economy fight “is without question the most serious litigation matter we have at the WTO right now. And I have made it very clear that a bad decision with respect to non-market economy status with China … would be cataclysmic for the WTO."

　　Lighthizer was responding to a question from Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) about the administration’s efforts to beat back China’s request to be treated as a market economy for the purposes of antidumping cases.

　　在6月21日美国总统特朗普关于贸易计划与预算的听证会上，Lighthizer告知参议院财政委员会：“中美有关中国非市场经济地位的争端是当前WTO组织最重要的争端，胜败结果将对WTO产生重大影响”。针对中国政府希望以市场经济地位来处理相关反倾销案例的诉求，Lighthizer同时回答了参议员 Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)提出的美国政府将如何回击中国此举的提问

　　China has initiated dispute settlement proceedings against the U.S. and European Union over their continued treatment of China as a non-market economy. The case against the U.S. remains in the consultation phase, while a panel has been established, but not composed, in the EU dispute. Lighthizer noted that the U.S. is working with the EU on the issue

　　此前，中国向世贸组织启动了针对美国和欧盟一直将中国作为非市场经济地位的待遇的争端解决程序。而针对美国的诉讼目前处于咨询阶段;针对欧盟的诉讼已经设立裁判委员会，但并未最终确定。Lighthizer透露：美国和欧盟正就此案共同磋商。

　　“Who knows how the WTO rules? It’s without question in my opinion that we’re in the right,” Lighthizer added. “So we will keep you posted as we proceed on this. It’s extremely important. I’m assuming, I guess, that the WTO is going to do the right thing and rule in our favor. If it doesn’t we’ll work closely with the committee because I’ve told the director-general of the WTO and other countries this is absolutely cataclysmic [if] China is a market economy.”

　　“谁知道WTO会如何判决?但我目前认为我们一定会赢”。 Lighthizer继续强调。 “我们将及时通告各位相关进展。 因为此事事关重大。 我估计，我猜想，(似乎不是很自信，呵呵。编者注)我们会胜诉。如果万一WTO的裁决不利于我们，我们将和委员会密切工作，因为，我已经向WTO总干事和其它国家明示：(如果)承认中国市场经济地位将给世界贸易带来灾难影响。”

　　Lighthizer also revealed in his testimony that the U.S. would be pursuing two disputes at the WTO brought by the Obama administration against China over its agricultural policies -- a case involving Chinese subsidies for wheat, corn and rice and a separate dispute over Beijing’s tariff-rate quota policies for those crops.

　　在Lighthizer的陈述中，他同时提到了美国在奥巴马政府期间针对中国农业政策而发起的两起诉讼案。一起是针对中国对小麦、玉米和大米的补贴案，另一起为北京关税配额政策。

　　“For too long, the United States -- one of the most open and freest traders in the world -- has been the chief target of litigation at the World Trade Organization,” he said. “This makes no sense. At the same time, we are proceeding with WTO cases against China’s unfair support for agriculture, as well challenging their tariff-rate quotas on key farm products.”

　　他说：“作为世界上最开放和自由的贸易国家，美国一直是世贸组织诉讼案的主要目标。这没有道理。同时，我们也对中国对其农产品的扶持政策和关税配额制度提起了反诉讼。”

He also signaled that USTR is weighing the initiation of additional disputes. “And this is only the beginning -- we will aggressively pursue countries that violate trade deals with the United States, whether those deals are at the WTO or in free-trade agreements,” Lighthizer said. “We have a number of potential cases under review as we speak and will keep this committee informed as we proceed.”

　　Lighthizer还暗示美国贸易代表办公室(USTR)正在考量是否发动其它贸易诉讼。“这只是开始。对于侵害美国贸易利益的国家，无论是通过WTO还是其它自由贸易协定，我们将积极采取应对措施。”

　　Outside of WTO action, Lighthizer told the committee that Beijing has agreed to accept two of eight biotechagri culture traits that have been pending approval in China for years. As for the six remaining traits, Lighthizer sad “the administration is continuing to press China” to approve them.

　　除WTO以外，Lighthizer告诉委员会，北京已经同意接受多年悬而未决的8起涉及生物技术类农产品贸易纠纷中的2起。Lighthizer表示对于其它6起纠纷将继续向中国施压。

　　“Our expectation is that they will grant all eight approvals in due course. But our pressure is on them to do this as soon as possible. We haven’t lost sight of the fact that there are six of them still languishing,” he added. Republican Sens. Pat Roberts (KS) and John Thune (SD) implored Lighthizer for an update on the traits.

　　“我们期望中国全部同意和接受这8起纠纷案。我们将继续向中国施压让其尽快接受。我们没有忘记还有6件烦心事。”共和党人参议员 Pat Roberts (KS)以及 John Thune (SD)向Lighthizer询问了这6起纠纷案。

　　Under the initial outcomes of the 100-day plan, China agreed to hold a meeting of its National Biosafety Committee by the end of May to consider all eight traits. China pledged that approved products will be granted certificates by Chinese authorities within 20 working days of their approval. For products not approved, China, under the initial outcomes of the plan, must without delay request and gather any additional information on a given trait to finalize a safety assessment.

　　在“百天计划初步结果”中，中国“国家生物安全委员会” 同意在5月底开会讨论全部8起纠纷案，并表示一旦接受，将在20个工作日内由政府相关部门颁发许可证。对于未通过的产品，根据该计划，中国必须尽快收集和征集进一步的信息并完成评估。

　　Lighthizer said there was “a hope” of another harvest before July 16 -- 100 days after the April meeting in Florida between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, where the plan was agreed to. “There have been an exchange of a variety of priorities the United States has as well as a variety of priorities that the Chinese have,” Lighthizer added, noting that the two sides are considering how to proceed after the negotiations over the 100-day plan conclude.

　　Lighthizer认为，在7月16日前，时值特朗普总统和中国国家主席习近平之间于今年4月在美国佛罗里达州所达成的协议的100天，美国将迎来“另外一个收获季节”。在该次会谈上，双方领导人就各自的不同重点交换了意见。双方也在考虑在百天计划结束后如何开展各项工作。

　　But Finance Committee ranking member panned the administration for how it has negotiated the 100-day plan thus far. “The administration, regrettably, has an abysmal record on transparency. The commerce department is conducting what seems to be the most opaque trade negotiation ever with the Chinese as part of the so-called 100-day plan,” he said.

　　但是，财政委员会副主任Ron Wyden (D-OR)对美国贸易代表办公室的100计划的谈判进行了抨击，“当局在透明度方面做的太差。”“这是和中国就百天计划进行的最含糊不清的贸易谈判。”

　　Wyden added that it is not clear what factors are guiding the administration and what tradeoffs are being made as part of the negotiations.

　　Wyden继续批评美国贸易代表办公室在谈判中不得要领，缺乏实际效果。

　　Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) asked Lighthizer if a compromise could be reached on Chinese solar panel production capacity as part of the 100-day plan. Lighthizer said “we have reason for optimism that the Chinese side might be willing to make some sort of compromise,” but noted that the 100-day program is set to conclude in the near future.

　　参议员Maria Cantwell (D-WA)询问Lighthizer是否已经和中国就太阳能板生产量问题达成了妥协。 Lighthizer回应道：“我们认为中国会就此进行妥协。”但同时提醒，百天计划即将到期。

　　Lighthizer also assured Cantwell that USTR is aware of and places a priority on monitoring and urging the Chinese government to address concerns about cloud computing regulations that would require the transfer of intellectual property and Chinese control of businesses operating in China. -- Jack Caporal)

　　Lighthizer同时向Cantwell保证美国贸易代表办公室正密切关注中国政府即将对云计算行业制定新的法规：中国政府希望通过制定此类法规来谋求知识产权转移以及对商业经营活动的控制。 -- (英文原文作者：Jack Caproal)