Trade body: China can hit US with sanctions worth $3.6 bln

JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The World Trade Organization said Friday that China can impose tariffs on up to $3.6 billion worth of U.S. goods over the American government's failure to abide by anti-dumping rules with regard to Chinese products. The move hands China its first such payout at the trade body at a time when it is engaged in a big dispute with the United States that has bypassed the WTO altogether and resulted in tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of goods. The announcement from a WTO arbitrator centers on a case with origins long before the current trade standoff: a Chinese complaint filed nearly six years ago seeking over $7 billion in retaliation. The decision means China can impose higher tariffs against the United States than China is c