On October 18, 2102, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a press release announcing that the World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body rule in favor of the U.S. on the dispute with China in regards to the imposition of duties on U.S. exports on grain oriented flat-rolled electrical steel, and rejected China's claims on appeal.

In the press release, the USTR explains that "the Appellate Body rejected China’s claims that the Panel misinterpreted the Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM) Agreement and the Anti-Dumping (AD) Agreement. In particular, the Appellate Body upheld the Panel’s findings of defects in China’s determination that U.S. exports caused adverse price effects. The Appellate Body also upheld Panel findings that China failed to disclose essential facts, and failed to explain its determination."

In the background information included in the release, it is explained that the dispute settlement consultations with China was first brought to the WTO on September 15, 2015, and after no resolve was found, a Panel was established on March 2011.

The Appellate Body's report will be adopted by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body within 30 days, and recommend that China take the appropriate steps to conform with the SCM and AD agreements.

The full text of the press release is available online here.