China

This is something I found in Autobeat about China. It is not necessarily about the automotive industry but I think it shows a lot about the current issues and relationship between the two government and the corporations.

Autobeat Asia: Monday April 2, 2007

U.S. SETS SANCTIONS ON CHINESE PAPER
Last week the Bush Administration imposed tariffs on
Chinese makers of high-gloss paper, claiming that China is
illegally subsidizing them.
The action may trigger similar complaints by American
producers about unfair competition from China concerning
steel, plastics, machinery, textiles and other products.
Under the new rule issued by the U.S. Commerce
Dept., Chinese companies—and some in Indonesia and
South Korea—must immediately begin paying cash
deposits that range from 11% to more than 20% on
targeted high-gloss paper used in magazines, brochures,
catalogs, annual reports and movie posters.
The case was triggered by a complaint filed in October
by Ohio-based NewPage Corp., the largest producer of
high-quality paper in the U.S. The company claims Chinese
competitors benefit from government-backed tax breaks,
debt forgiveness and low-cost loans.
Friday’s ruling was hailed in the U.S. by a range of
manufacturing groups, labor unions and environmentalists.
China sharply criticized the move, calling it unacceptable
and setting a bad precedent that could damage China-U.S.
relations. China is expected to contest the decision in U.S.
federal court and through the World Trade Organization.
Importers must begin paying cash deposits on imported
Chinese paper now. But the Commerce Department has
not made a final determination on the duties. The case also
must be reviewed by the International Trade Commission. A
final ruling is likely to take months.
Still, the department’s action appears to reverse a 20-
year-old U.S. policy that barred anti-subsidy duties on
goods exported from communist and other “nonmarket”
economies. The logic was that it was too difficult to calculate
what constituted a subsidy in a state-controlled economy.
Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez argues that
China's rapidly expanding economy justifies the new policy.