WTO to examine China's complaint over US electric vehicle subsidies

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreed on Sept 23 to establish an expert panel to examine US subsidies for electric vehicles after Beijing accused Washington of unfair competition.

The US slammed China's complaint, insisting that the latter was seeking "to distract from its own non-market policies and practices that undermine a fair, competitive, and mutually beneficial trading system".

The world's second-largest economy initially brought the case to the WTO in March, charging that the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) "formulates discriminatory subsidy policies for new-energy vehicles", referencing a classification that includes electric cars and hybrids.

In 2022, the US announced a massive aid programme to support companies in the energy transition sector and electric cars manufactured on American soil.