오바마 정부 중국 WTO 첫 제소
미국과 유럽연합(EU)이 중국의 천연광물 수출제한 조치에 대해 세계무역기구(WTO)에 제소했다. 미 무역대표부 론 커크 대표는 23 일
워싱턴에서 기자회견을 갖고 세계의 주요 천연광물을 공급하는 중국이 광물 수출을 제한하는 것은 국제 무역규칙에 어긋난다며 중국을
WTO 에 제소했다고 밝혔다. 버락 오바마 행정부 출범 이후 미국이 중국을 WTO 에 제소하기는 처음이다.
EU 집행위원회도 이날 중국이 쿼터제, 수출세 인상, 수출가격 하한제 등의 조치를 통해 천연광물 수출을 제한해 WTO 규정을 위반해
제소했다고 밝혔다. EU 와 미국이 이의를 제기한 품목은 보크사이트, 코크스, 망간, 탄산마그네슘, 탄화규소, 아연 등이다.
커크 대표는 중국의 수출제한 조치는 광물을 원료로 쓰는 중국의 화학 철강 알루미늄 등 산업에 엄청난 이점을 주는 것이라고 주장했다.
캐서린 애슈턴 EU 통상담당 집행위원도 중국이 천연광물 수출을 제한해 가격이 올라감에 따라 경제난으로 어려운 외국기업들의 고통이 더
커지고 있다고 지적했다.
미국과 EU 는 중국이 2001 년 WTO 에 가입하면서 수출관세 등을 폐지하겠다고 했음에도 철강 반도체 항공기 제작에 필요한 천연 광물에
한해 수출을 제한하고 있다고 지적했다.
이에 중국 상무부는 24 일 대변인 성명을 통해 주요 광물 수출제한은 환경보호를 위한 조치이며 WTO 규정에도 어긋나지 않는다고 반박했다.
상무부는 미국과 EU 의 제소에 대해 WTO 가 정한 무역분쟁 해결절차에 따라 대응할 것이라고 밝혔다. 중국의 한 철강업계 전문가는 일부
천연광물은 수출을 위해 가공하는 과정에서 많은 이산화탄소가 배출돼 환경오염이 문제되는 측면도 있다며 하지만 중국에서 주로 생산되는
천연광물 수출을 제한하는 것은 경제위기 상황에서 국내 산업 보호를 위한 당연한 조치라고 주장했다.
중국은 미국의 중국산 가금류 수입금지 조사를 WTO 에 요청해 맞불 작전을 폈다. 양국은 2004 년 조류인플루엔자 파동 때 서로 가금류
수입을 금지했다가 이후 중국은 해제했으나 미국은 아직도 수입을 금지하고 있다고 중국 측은 주장했다.
월스트리트저널은 24 일 미국과 EU 가 각각 중국을 같은 내용으로 WTO 에 제소한 것은 그만큼 사안이 중요하다는 것을 반영한다고 전했다.
이 신문은 이어 미국은 지금까지 중국이 홍수처럼 많은 제품을 수출한다며 문제를 삼았는데 수출이 적다며 제소를 한 것은 이번이 처음일
것이라고 분석했다.
US, EU File Trade Complaints Against China
The U.S. and the European Union yesterday filed complaints with the World Trade Organization against China over
restrictions on the export of raw minerals.
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk told a news conference, “It is a violation of world trade rules for China, which
supplies major natural minerals to the world, to restrict their exports,” adding Washington has filed a complaint with the
trade body.
The complaint is the first of its kind filed by the Obama administration against China.
The EU Executive Committee also said, “China has violated WTO rules by restricting export of raw minerals through a
quota system, a hike in export tax, and a minimum price requirement.”
The EU and the U.S. cited bauxite, coke, magnesium, manganese, silicon metal and zinc in their complaints.
Kirk said, “The Chinese government’s move to restrict export of raw materials gives chemical, steel and aluminum
manufacturers in that country a huge competitive advantage.”
EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton also said, “The Chinese restrictions on raw materials distort competition and
increase global prices, making things even more difficult for our companies in this economic downturn.”
The U.S. and the EU said that when China joined the WTO in 2001, it pledged to remove these restrictions but has
instead restricted exports of raw materials needed for the production of steel, semiconductors and aircraft.
In Beijing, the Chinese Commerce Ministry denied the allegation, saying, “The export restrictions on major raw
materials have been taken to help protect the environment, and does not violate WTO rules.”
The ministry said Beijing will respond to the complaints according to the dispute settlement procedures of the trade
body.
A steel industry source in China said, “Certain natural minerals cause environmental pollution, as they could generate
carbon dioxide in the course of processing for export,” adding, “But, restricting exports of natural materials that are
mainly produced in China is a natural measure required by the country to protect domestic industries amid the
economic crisis.”
In an apparent retaliatory move, Beijing asked the WTO to investigate Washington’s ban on Chinese poultry imports.
Following the 2004 outbreak of avian influenza, the two countries imposed bans on poultry imports in both nations.
China said it lifted the ban but the U.S. has yet to.
The Wall Street Journal said the two complaints filed separately by the EU and the U.S. highlight the importance of the
dispute, adding the complaints mark a departure from past allegations by the U.S. and other countries that China is
flooding foreign markets with its exports.
Xerox Completes First Female CEO Handoff
Report shows women still a minority in corporate America
By Antonio Perez
Epoch Times Staff Jun 1, 2009
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Chairman of the Board of the Xerox Corporation, Anne Mulcahywill step down for Ursula Burns on July 1.
(Franck Perry/AFP/Getty Images)
NEW YORK—In the first female CEO handoff among Fortune 500 companies, Xerox chief executive Anne
Mulcahy last week passed the torch to Ursula Burns, effective July 1.
Burns, the current president of the document imaging giant, was nominated by the board to
replace Mulcahy, while Mulcahy will remain as Chairman of the Board.
"As CEO, Anne successfully led a multibillion-dollar turnaround of Xerox and transformed the
business into an innovative digital technology and services enterprise," said N.J. Nicholas, lead
independent director of Xerox's board of directors, in a written statement.
Mulcahy took over the company in 2001, when Xerox was having financial difficulties and was on
the verge of bankruptcy. She also led the company through periods of allegations of accounting
irregularities from the SEC—eventually settling in 2003.
She began her career at Xerox 33 years ago as a saleswoman in the company’s Boston location,
eventually working her way up to become the Chief Operating Officer, and then CEO. As chief
executive, she invested heavily in research and development and customer service, rescuing
Xerox from financial strife and returning the company to its position as a market leader in imaging.
According to the company, Mulcahy established Xerox Global Services, which offers documentrelated outsourcing, imaging and consulting services. The business generated $3.5 billion in
revenue last year.
"I joined Xerox because it offered a level playing field—a sales environment where meritocracy
ruled. And, I stayed because the values of the brand, the culture and the people are so closely
aligned with how I think every business should operate," Mulcahy said, lauding Xerox’s culture of
diversity and growth. "The decision to move on is made easy only in the fact that Ursula Burns is
so well positioned to take Xerox to the next level.”
"Ursula takes on the leadership role the old-fashioned way," she added. "She has earned it. And,
for that, she has my deep respect and confidence."
Burns, 50, joined Xerox in 1980 as a summer intern.
Glass Ceiling Still Intact?
Only a few decades ago, the thought of women stepping into the boardroom was frowned upon, if
not snickered at. Only 12 Fortune 500 companies—that’s 2.4 percent at the nation’s largest
firms—have female leadership at the top, despite the fact that women make up more than half of
the U.S. workforce.
But more work still needs to be done. A latest study by Catalyst, a New York-based organization
promoting workplace inclusiveness, shows little change during the past few years in the number
of women in the upper echelons of major corporations.
“Now more than ever, as companies examine how best to weather an economy in crisis, we need
talented business leaders, and many of these leaders, yet untapped, are women,” said Ilene H.
Lang, president of Catalyst, in a statement.
Women held 15.2 percent of board director positions, compared to 14.8 percent in 2007, the
Catalyst study showed. Women of color held 3.2 percent of all board director positions.
According to Forbes, Margaret Whitman, former CEO and recently a special advisor for eBay Inc.,
was the highest paid female executive in America last year, with an annual compensation of over
$100 million. Whitman was Sen. John McCain’s campaign co-chair last year and is a candidate for
California’s governorship in the 2010 election.