The World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body on December 15 upheld a July panel ruling on Chinese auto parts.  China welcomed the overruling this decision as it supported an appeal by China to correct the WTO panel's mistakes, Yao Jian, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), said in a statement, while however expressing regrets over the WTO's decision to uphold other aspects of the ruling.

China charges a 25% tariff on a complete vehicle and 10% on parts.  Subject to a measure promulgated on April 1, 2005 on controlling auto parts which are actually piece-by-piece imports of a complete vehicle, China considers auto parts as a complete vehicle if they account for 60 percent or more of the value of a complete vehicle and charges the 25% tariff.

The United States, the European Union and Canada instituted a complaint to the WTO in March 2006, asserting China's trade barrier practice on auto parts barrier.  A WTO panel decided in July this year that China's import practices defy WTO rules. China appealed the panel's conclusion before the WTO Appellate Body in September.

(China IP News)