GENEVA — The United States has won a wide-ranging ruling against Chinese trade practices that could provide massive market opportunities for American makers of CDs, DVDs, music downloads and books.
The verdict released Wed nesday at the World Trade Organization in Geneva finds definitively against China for forcing American media producers to route their business in China through Chinese state-owned companies. China said today it might appeal.
The WTO victory comes as President Barack Obama is being pressed to be tough on trade rules with China, which many Democrats in Congress blame for America’s soaring trade deficits and lost manufacturing jobs. The case is sensitive also for the Chinese government, which asserts the right to keep out content it finds objectionable.
The case goes to the heart of the larger dispute over China and its rapid rise as a trade power and exporter, with some of its economic partners believing it has achieved its position in part by protecting its own market.
The public release of the document revealed dozens of decisions that support the complaints of trade associations representing record labels, publishers and Hollywood studios.
