Canada goes to WTO in China wood pulp row

(MENAFN- AFP) Canada asked the World Trade Organization on Thursday to arbitrate an ongoing trade row with China over its imposition of punitive tariffs on bleached wood pulp.

Trade Minister Ed Fast said an investigation China had carried out into Canada selling the forestry product at slashed prices was flawed, so the Asian country's reaction to restrict Canadian imports was unwarranted.

"Canada's position is that China's investigation was not conducted in accordance with WTO rules and, as a result, the conclusions were flawed," he said in a statement.

The two sides tried but failed to find a negotiated solution to the dispute.

And so, "Canada is requesting the establishment of a WTO panel on China's imposition of discriminatory anti-dumping measures on Canadian dissolving pulp," said Fast.

Wood pulp, also called dissolving pulp, is typically spun into textile fibers or films.

China imposed duties of up to 23.7 percent on Canadian exports of dissolving pulp entering the Chinese market last April.

Canadian companies exported Can$317 million (US$254 million) worth of dissolving pulp to China last year. In 2013, Canada exported almost half of the 750,000 tonnes it produced.