EU warns of WTO challenge

Beijing: The European Union will challenge the China-US trade agreement at the World Trade Organization if it creates "distortions" in the market that harm EU companies, the bloc´s envoy to Beijing said Friday.

Ambassador Nicolas Chapuis told reporters the 28-nation EU "will monitor the implementation" of the "phase one" deal that was signed on Wednesday by President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.

"In our opinion, quantitative targets are not WTO-compatible if they lead to trade distortions," Chapuis said. "If it were to be the case, we will go to the WTO to settle this matter." He said that during a meeting at the Chinese foreign ministry, he was given "formal assurances that in absolutely no way would European businesses be affected by the US-China deal".

The WTO´s principle of most-favoured-nation treatment says countries cannot discriminate between trading partners. Under the deal, China agreed to import an additional $200 billion in US products over two years, above the levels purchased in 2017, including an additional $32 billion in agricultural goods.