The World Trade Organization said Tuesday that it would rule on a dispute brought by China to the United States over anti-dumping calculations imposed by Washington on Chinese diamond sawblades and shrimps.

"The DSB (Dispute Settlement Body) established a panel to examine this issue," said a WTO spokeswoman.

The United States had launched an anti-dumping probe against China in 2004 over certain frozen shrimps and in 2005, it launched another investigation against Chinese diamond sawblades.

In both cases, Washington applied a complex anti-dumping calculation called zeroing, which China claims flouts international trade rules.

The United States has lost several major cases at the WTO related to the zeroing method -- which involves counting negative values as zero when calculating an average -- including against Brazil and the European Union.

According to complainants, the zeroing method allows Washington to increase its estimate of the degree of dumping on its markets.

Dumping involves the sale of items abroad at less than the cost price in their domestic market.

The United States said it believed that the dispute "was unnecessary," pointing out that "the US Department of Commerce has discontinued zeroing in the context of average to average comparisons in investigations."

Hong Kong posts first export drop in two years
Hong Kong (AFP) Oct 25, 2011 - Hong Kong's exports dropped in September, official data showed Tuesday, the first decline in almost two years as the southern Chinese city feels the impact of a weakening global economy.

For the first time since October 2009, the city's shipments declined three percent year-on-year as shipments, including electronics and clothing, slumped to markets in Asia and elsewhere.

The total value of exports decreased to HK$271.8 billion ($35 billion) from 2010, according to the Census and Statistics Department, which described the export-driven city's trade prospects in the coming months as "bleak."

The September decline reversed August's 6.8 percent increase in shipments.

"The main drags came from (mainland China) and the US markets, with the former relapsing to a decline and the latter dipping for the fifth straight month," a government spokesman said in a statement Tuesday.

"Exports to the (European Union) and other Asian markets also saw varying degrees of moderation, although those to Taiwan and Thailand continued to see double-digit growth."

The spokesman added that "downside risks to the global economy have continued to increase amid the deepening eurozone sovereign debt crisis and the stalling recovery in the advanced economies."

"Against this background, Hong Kong's export outlook in the coming months is bleak," he added.