China files complaint over US tariff measures

China has formally filed a complaint against planned U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, the World Trade Organization said today.

China "requested consultations" over the Trump administration's plans to impose tariffs, officially initiating a dispute with the WTO, the global trade body said.

"Consultations give the parties an opportunity to discuss the matter and to find a satisfactory solution without proceeding further with litigation," the WTO said. "After 60 days, if consultations have failed to resolve the dispute, the complainant may request adjudication by a panel."

The United States on Tuesday proposed adding a 25 percent tariff to $50 billion of goods imported from China, and China said the next day it would impose its own 25 percent tariff on approximately $50 billion of U.S. exports and that it had initiated a dispute settlement procedure against the U.S.

Both countries have listed specific products from the other country that they said they planned to tax.