We welcome the decision of the European Commission on behalf of the EU to request a panel from the WTO. Landsbergis said in a statement released by his ministry on Wednesday that the EU will defend the single market and EU member states by all means are against China's politically motivated economic coercion.
The minister said that Lithuania wants constructive relations with China, but he added that China's systematic violations of international trade rules and legitimate business interests can not be tolerated.
Landsbergis said that China had already had the chance to resolve the dispute during the WTO consultations, but did not behave constructively. Establishing a panel was fair and defended the rule-based international trade order.
Illegal economic pressure, even if against just one EU member state, must be seen as an attack on the whole of the Union. The Lithuanian foreign minister said that the EU will protect its rights and use every possibility offered by international law.
The EU asked the World Trade Organization to set up two panels as part of its ongoing trade disputes with China earlier in the day. The European Commission said there was a legality of the trade restrictions that China has put in place against Lithuanian exports and EU exports containing Lithuanian content since December 2021.
The legality of China restricting EU holders of high-tech patents from accessing EU courts to protect and enforce their rights is one of the concerns.
According to the Foreign Ministry, the WTO Dispute Settlement BodyWTO Dispute Settlement Body will consider the request to establish a panel on 20 December. China has the right to oppose the first request, in which case the decision on the establishment of a panel would take place on January 30, 2023, at a meeting due to take place on January 30, 2023.