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Overnight, the World Trade Organization's WTO raised its hand in a tariff dispute between the United States and China.
It is the WTO's first judgment made in the US-China conflict, but it is unclear whether it will actually lead to the final decision, and some say it is only a paper victory.
Reporter Jeon Byung-nam on the report.
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World Trade Organization and the WTO have determined that tariffs of US$234 billion and US$276 trillion imposed by the United States on Chinese-made products do not comply with trade regulations.
The WTO said, "The US measures only applied to Chinese products," and "violates long international trade rules."
Earlier, in 2018, the U.S. took additional tariff measures on Chinese-made products due to unfair government subsidies and intellectual property infringement, and the WTO helped China in the U.S.-China tariff dispute.
The U.S. government strongly opposed it, saying it was an entirely inappropriate decision.
"We will not let China use the WTO to take advantage of American workers and companies," said Robert Lightheiser, the head of the US Trade Representative.
On the other hand, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce has pressed the United States to respect the WTO's decision and to take practical steps to maintain the multilateral trading system.
The ruling is of interest as it is the WTO's first ruling on tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on goods from other countries, but it is unclear whether it will take effect.
This is because the appeals body, which serves as the final judge of the WTO, has been suspended since last year due to a boycott of the United States.
The Bloomberg News said the WTO ruling was only a paper victory for China and said it was meaningless.