'No basis': Beijing dismisses US's WTO criticism by AFP Staff Writers Beijing (AFP) Feb 17, 2022 Beijing on Thursday dismissed the United States' assessment of China's World Trade Organization membership, saying its criticism had "no basis in international economic and trade rules". The commerce ministry's retort came a day after Washington said China, 20 years after its accession, had not adopted the rules of the WTO, retaining and expanding its state-led approach, to the detriment of businesses and workers globally. The annual report to Congress by the office of the US Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai also said China had a "long history of violating, disregarding and circumventing WTO rules to achieve its industrial policy objectives". Commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng noted that the US labelled China as non-market-oriented, but added that "these remarks have no basis according to international economic and trade rules, and are completely inconsistent with the facts". He also urged the US to ensure its trade tools "comply with WTO rules instead of waging unilateralism, protectionism, and bullying in the name of seeking a new strategy". Gao said China hoped the US would "adopt rational and pragmatic economic and trade policies toward China". Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the WTO works to enforce rules governing international trade, including promoting fair competition and open trade. When it joined in December 2001, Beijing said it would embrace those principles, Tai said, but added that China has since widened its state-led, non-market approach to the economy and trade. The US has long denounced Chinese practices such as its subsidies for public companies, and Beijing is also accused of stealing intellectual property and forcibly transferring know-how and technology from foreign companies in exchange for market access.
Union vote at New York Amazon facility set for late March New York (AFP) Feb 16, 2022 Backers of a unionization drive at an Amazon warehouse in New York announced Wednesday they had reached agreement with the e-commerce giant for a union election in late March. Employees at the JFK8 Amazon Fulfillment Center in Staten Island will vote in person from March 25-30, Christian Smalls, president of Amazon Labor Union said on Twitter. The National Labor Relations Board, which oversees union elections, said in late January that enough workers at the facility supported the drive to justif ... read more
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |