The Brazilian government has launched a formal WTO dispute against China’s import restrictions on sugar, implemented since 2017, including tariffs and quotas. The timing of the case for Brazil appears to be tied to declining exports, which fell 32.3% on a year earlier in the three months to August 31. China’s share of exports has fallen to 1.3% of the total in the past 12 months from 9.3% in 2015. A significant change in China’s import rules will be needed to make a meaningful difference though, and China’s imports year-to-date are already down 15.0% on a year earlier in dollar terms.