Report: U.S. wins WTO films, music case vs. China

[Coventina]

Source: USA Today

GENEVA — The U.S. has largely prevailed in a trade dispute with China over restrictions on the sale there of American CDs, DVDs, books and computer software, two officials familiar with the ruling have told the Associated Press.

The confidential verdict from the World Trade Organization victory comes as the administration of President Obama is being pressed to be tough over trade rules with China, whom many Democrats in the U.S. Congress blame in part for America's soaring trade deficits and lost manufacturing jobs.

The ruling in the case, filed during the preceding Bush administration, was released to Beijing and Washington last month and will be made public on Aug. 12. It finds that Beijing is breaking commerce rules by forcing U.S.-made goods from magazines to video games to be sold through Chinese state-owned companies, the officials said.

But, as with most WTO rulings, the officials say the ruling stops short of a complete U.S. victory as the three-member panel delivered mixed findings on Chinese censorship rules that apply to American-made goods but not to Chinese products. It also permits China to make U.S. films go through one of two designated distributors to be shown in Chinese cinemas, a requirement not required of Chinese movies.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/money/world/2009-07-22-wto-china-us_N.htm