28.04.2010

China will impose an additional duty on U.S. chicken imports of as much as 31.4 percent in response to what it called unfair subsidies for poultry farmers, threatening to deepen a trade rift. An initial investigation showed that the U.S. provides subsidized soybeans and corn to its poultry industry, hurting Chinese producers, the Ministry of Commerce said on its Web site today. Importers must pay the new tariff on top of anti- dumping duties of as much as 105.4 percent imposed in February.

President Barack Obama in September placed tariffs on automobile tires from China after labor union complaints that imports were pushing U.S. factory workers out of jobs. In February, China, the largest market for U.S. chicken, said it would impose anti-dumping duties on imports of poultry products. U.S. chicken product exports to China have already shrunk drastically since the announcement of an anti-dumping duty. China consumed almost 800,000 metric tons of U.S. chicken in 2008, valued at $722 million, according to the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council. 

Chinese consumers are fond of chicken feet, innards and other parts that U.S. consumers don’t eat, while the U.S. is a market for Chinese chicken breasts. Two-way trade in chicken is mutually complementary (Businessweek).