The World Trade Organization just told China it can hit the U.S. with nearly $3.6 billion in sanctions.
The decision stems from a complaint China filed years ago, before the current trade war. The issue was anti-dumping tariffs the U.S. imposed on Chinese products. Those fees are applied when a country thinks some of its imports are priced below a fair market value.
The WTO's rules do allow anti-dumping tariffs. But the international trade body said the U.S. calculated and applied the penalties in an overly broad way.
China can now ask the WTO to approve retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, which the agency typically approves. But this dispute could also be resolved as part of a bigger trade deal between the two countries.
