Back in August, the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled against the Chinese government's attempt to control Western media, allowing U.S. artists and companies to freely distribute content within the country rather than being forced to go through state-controlled entities. Online distribution was also opened up.
China wasn't about to take all this sitting down and promptly filed an appeal in September, citing "moral defense" as the reason. It's an extreme defense, and the WTO is obligated to take a second look when nations start throwing around that term. Basically, the Chinese government insisted that it free distribution of U.S. media -- including video games, music, movies -- would be detrimental to its people's moral health. The United States also tried this argument back in 2005, attempting to ban online gambling.
Now it looks like China can join their economic nemesis on the list of countries that failed the "moral defense" argument. Basically, the People's Republic of China couldn't convince the WTO that these trade restrictions were necessary to protect its public. The Chinese government has a year to respond, or the U.S. could retaliate with its own trade sanctions against China in order to make up for the billions lost on media not allowed into the communist state.
"U.S. companies and workers are at the cutting edge of these industries, and they deserve a full chance to compete under agreed WTO rules," remarked U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk . "We expect China to respond promptly to these findings and bring its measures into compliance."
Only 20 foreign films are currently allowed in China per year, and despite the WTO's ruling, the folks at Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) don't expect that number to change.
Source:GamePolitics
Sections:Console Games, PC Games
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