U.S. Ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Peter Allgeier played down on Wednesday a dispute with China over auto part tariff rules, saying Washington actually prefers a solution through bilateral negotiations.

"We don't look forward to the DSB, our approach ...is first to try to work it out through negotiations bilaterally," Allgeier told reporters at a press conference.

The DSB refers to the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body.

The United States and the EU have for months wanted China to change certain tariff policies that they say hinder Western automakers and car parts suppliers in China, one of the world's biggest auto markets.

In late March they asked China to take part in consultations in the WTO, which was the first step toward a request for the WTO DSB to rule on the issue.

Beijing has accepted the request for consultations.

Allgeier said Washington had been talking with Beijing over the auto part tariff issue "for some time".

He said Washington brought the case to the WTO because bilateral talks with Beijing which were not making adequate progress.

The ambassador expressed hope that consultations with China would lead to a solution so that the two sides did not have to go further on the WTO dispute settlement process.

He recalled Washington once had consultations with Beijing in the WTO on semiconductor tax issue, and there they found a solution.

Asked whether Washington has any plan to bring other cases to the WTO, such as intellectual property rights, which it always accuses Beijing of not doing enough to protect, Allgeier said currently no.

"We do not have any other specific cases that we are planning to file," he said.

"As I said earlier, our preference is always to negotiate bilaterally to find a solution that works for both sides," he added.

But Allgeier said going to the WTO was certainly an option if bilateral talks could not deal with the issue effectively.

Source: Xinhua