China to re-examine duties on US chicken after WTO ruling

BEIJING - China's Commerce Ministry said on Wednesday it will re-examine its decision to impose anti-dumping duties on US chicken broiler parts after the World Trade Organisation ruled against Beijing in the four-year-old dispute.

US chicken exports to China have fallen by 90 per cent over the past four years, costing sellers an estimated US$1 billion (S$1.26 billion), after China imposed high anti-dumping duties on the meat.

A WTO panel ruled in favour of a US complaint on Aug. 2 and the WTO adopted the decision on Sept. 25 without an appeal from China.

"The Commerce Ministry has decided, with effect from the release of this notice, to carry out another investigation in this case in accordance with the ruling and suggestion of the relevant report by the WTO experts group," the ministry said in a statement on its website (www.mofcom.gov.cn).

"The Commerce Ministry will look again at the evidence and information obtained from the original anti-dumping and anti-subsidy reports, and carry out another investigation by means of questionnaires and hearings," it said.

The United States and China, the world's two largest economies, are engaged in a number of trade disputes, including those involving Chinese tyres and US-made cars.