China Appeals WTO's Media Ruling

[Coventina]

Source: Wall Street Journal

BRUSSELS -- China on Tuesday invoked defense of its "public morals" in appealing a World Trade Organization ruling against restrictions on distribution of Hollywood movies and other Western media, according to a copy of the appeal reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

The move reflects escalating trade tensions between the two major trade partners ahead of the Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh this week. Earlier this month, the U.S. slapped tariffs of 25% to 35% on imports of Chinese tires. Beijing retaliated by opening investigations into imports from the U.S. poultry products and auto parts.

In its last-minute appeal against against the WTO's Aug. 12 ruling on media distribution restrictions, China charged that the WTO panel "committed errors of law and legal interpretation in concluding that none of the measures are 'necessary' to protect public morals."

The WTO's 460-page August ruling said Beijing must stop forcing U.S. artists and production companies to go through state-controlled distributors. If implemented, the measure would be a boon to Western makers of movies, music and video games who currently face extra costs and obstructions to distribute in China. The August ruling also instructed China to let foreign companies sell music online, which could help Apple Inc. and its iTunes music-downloading business.



Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125363796886531247.html

[Ghost Dog]

1. Sounds like a pretty strong argument to me.

Maybe they could add "public mental health" also. Seriously.