US, Japan and European Union seek stronger global rules on subsidies

Washington, Tokyo and Brussels on Tuesday joined forces in calling for stronger global rules against government subsidies that distort trade, a practice China has long been accused of exploiting.

The governments called on the World Trade Organization to beef up existing regulations, which they said in a statement are "insufficient to tackle market and trade distorting subsidisation." But they refrained from naming China directly.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer met Tuesday with Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Kajiyama Hiroshi, and European Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan, and also discussed the need to prevent forced technology transfers -- an issue at the heart