WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is blasting a World Trade Organization decision that could let China levy sanctions on the United States.

The WTO ruling was actually a mixed verdict in a case that dates back to 2007 and is unrelated to the tariffs the administration has slapped on $250 billion in Chinese goods. The WTO agreed with the U.S. that China lets state-owned companies subsidize Chinese firms by providing components at unfairly low costs.

But it said the U.S. wrongly calculated the tariffs imposed to punish China for the subsidies. If the U.S. doesn't recalculate them, China can retaliate with its own sanctions.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said the ruling "undermines WTO rules, making them less effective to counteract Chinese subsidies that are harming U.S. workers and businesses."