As EU Acts, U.S. Senators Introduce Bill To Block China From Gaining Market Status

Last week a group of Democratic senators—Sen. Al Franken (MN), Amy Klobuchar (MN) and Tammy Baldwin (WI)—introduced a bill that would allow Congress to vote on whether the World Trade Organization should, at the end of this year, allow China to be upgraded to “market economy” status. 

As Connecting the Dots reported last month, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced a similar bill in the House. 

China has argued that, under its World Trade Organization (WTO) accession agreement, it should be considered a market economy after Dec. 11, 2016. As a reminder, MSCI recently joined a coalition, Manufacturers for Trade Enforcement, that argues the U.S. government can and should continue to apply its right to assess the non-market aspects of China’s economy that are relevant to any U.S. trade enforcement action. Click here to learn more about that coalition and click here to read about a poll conducted on behalf of its members. 

While U.S. lawmakers are considering action on this issue, the European Union (EU) has acted. As The Wall Street Journal reported, the EU parliament last week “overwhelmingly voted against the European Union recognizing China as a market economy later this year.” While the vote was nonbinding, it “emphasize[d] political resistance to a further opening of the bloc’s economy to Beijing.” MSCI will continue to urge that U.S. lawmakers take the same, or similar, action.