To ME or Not to ME-.docVIP

To ME or Not to ME? 　　The European Commission （EC） will discuss the issue of granting market economy status （MES） to China throughout 2016. 　　On January 13， the EC had the first orientation debate on whether， and if so how， the European Union （EU） should change their treatment of China in their anti-dumping investigations after December 2016. The debate arises because at that time， certain provisions in Chinas Protocol of Accession to the WTO will expire. A decision has yet to be reached， and the EC will continue developing options for a way forward in this matter， according to a statement by the EC on the same day. 　　“We will come back to it later because the president [of the Commission， Jean-Claude Juncker] very clearly concluded that this issue has to be looked at from all important angles given the subjects importance for international trade， but also for the EUs economy，” EC Vice President Frans Timmermans said at a press conference after a special debate on the issue. 　　The commission is set to offer a proposal to the European Council and European Parliament on whether to grant China MES. According to Timmermans， the question should be put back on the table sometime in the second half of 2016. 　　China recently urged the EU to adhere to WTO rules and grant MES to China. “Pacta sunt servanda―Latin for Agreements must be kept’―is a basic principle and obligation in international law. No signatory party can evade its obligations under international treaties by citing domestic laws as an excuse， and treat Chinese enterprises in an unfair， unjust， unreasonable and discriminative manner，” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said on December 31， 2015. 　　“As a WTO member， China has been earnestly honoring each of its legal obligations since its accession， and must be entitled to all the WTO rights，” he added. 　　China became a WTO member in 2001. In its WTO Accession Protocol， a transitional period up to December 11， 2016， was agreed in respect to sever