The World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled in favor of a U.S. complaint against China’s trade policies of entertainment media products such as movies, books, magazines, and music.
The United States filed a complaint in 2007 that Chinese laws only allowed American media companies to distribute through fully or partially state-owned enterprises. In addition, China imposed “discriminatory limitations” on foreign media products.
On Thursday, the WTO decided in the U.S. government’s favor on most counts. It said that China acted inconsistently with its General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) obligations, and that “China has not demonstrated that any of the relevant measures are ‘necessary’ to protect public morals,” according to a WTO statement.
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Chairman and CEO Dan Glickman said in a response that, “The United States film industry won a major victory in its years-long battle to open the Chinese movie market today. The WTO decided in the U.S. government’s favor on virtually every count, declaring some of China’s most difficult barriers to its entertainment market to be clear violations of international trade rules. The decision points a way forward that will begin to even the playing field in this important market.”
According to the MPAA statement, when China entered the WTO in 2001, it agreed to phase in open market trade policies which would allow foreign companies to compete for Chinese consumers.
“When China joined the WTO, it agreed to make several changes to its laws to permit, over time, U.S. companies to compete in its market. Instead, China has maintained its state-owned monopoly on the importation of films, its restrictions on U.S.-owned companies that keep them from importing DVDs, as well as its barriers preventing U.S. companies from distributing DVDs to Chinese consumers, or even investing in such companies. The WTO found all of these barriers to be violations of China’s international obligations,” according to the MPAA statement.
The MPAA has lobbied China in the past to take a firmer stance against piracy and other transgressions of international intellectual property laws. Many Western media companies are unable to properly market music and movies due to low prices of pirated goods.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington was not able to comment at this time.
The United States filed a complaint in 2007 that Chinese laws only allowed American media companies to distribute through fully or partially state-owned enterprises. In addition, China imposed “discriminatory limitations” on foreign media products.
On Thursday, the WTO decided in the U.S. government’s favor on most counts. It said that China acted inconsistently with its General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) obligations, and that “China has not demonstrated that any of the relevant measures are ‘necessary’ to protect public morals,” according to a WTO statement.
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Chairman and CEO Dan Glickman said in a response that, “The United States film industry won a major victory in its years-long battle to open the Chinese movie market today. The WTO decided in the U.S. government’s favor on virtually every count, declaring some of China’s most difficult barriers to its entertainment market to be clear violations of international trade rules. The decision points a way forward that will begin to even the playing field in this important market.”
According to the MPAA statement, when China entered the WTO in 2001, it agreed to phase in open market trade policies which would allow foreign companies to compete for Chinese consumers.
“When China joined the WTO, it agreed to make several changes to its laws to permit, over time, U.S. companies to compete in its market. Instead, China has maintained its state-owned monopoly on the importation of films, its restrictions on U.S.-owned companies that keep them from importing DVDs, as well as its barriers preventing U.S. companies from distributing DVDs to Chinese consumers, or even investing in such companies. The WTO found all of these barriers to be violations of China’s international obligations,” according to the MPAA statement.
The MPAA has lobbied China in the past to take a firmer stance against piracy and other transgressions of international intellectual property laws. Many Western media companies are unable to properly market music and movies due to low prices of pirated goods.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington was not able to comment at this time.