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China to levy anti-dumping duties on US chicken

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-02-05 13:49

China will levy initial anti-dumping duties ranging from 43.1 to 105.4 percent on US chicken products exported to China, the Ministry of Commerce said on Friday, in a move likely to further aggravate trade ties.

The ministry's initial investigation showed that US companies had dumped chicken products into the Chinese market, according to the ministry's website (www.mofcom.gov.cn).

The investigation was announced after the US imposed safeguard duties on Chinese-made tires, which China is now fighting at the World Trade Organisation.

Chicken wings and feet, which are virtually worthless in the US market, are a delicacy in China. Many US poultry producers count on the Chinese market to round out their profits.

Companies that appealed the finding will see duties of 43.1 percent to 80.5 percent on their products, with Tyson Foods, an active investor and lobbiest in China, getting the lowest rate.

Those that did not appeal would pay duties of 105.4 percent, the ministry said.

The duties begin on February 13, or Chinese New Year's Eve, thus helping ensure that prices of the popular delicacies do not rise in a Chinese market that already faces vegetable inflation.