In May, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman announced that the United States was mounting a challenge to China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) because of the Chinese Government’s failure to bring its anti-dumping and countervailing duties against imports of U.S. broiler products into compliance with WTO rules.
Despite a WTO report claiming that these duties, which act as high taxes on U.S. poultry exports to China, are breaching China’s WTO obligations, the Chinese government has not removed them. A statement from the Chinese government delivered to a WTO dispute settlement body meeting last week in Geneva said China was “disappointed” that Washington had requested the creation of a panel. The Chinese government claimed that it had “engaged constructively and in good faith” in bilateral diplomatic talks ahead of the American request. The Chinese statement also said that “China believes its challenged measures are fully in compliance with WTO rules.”
The United States rebuffed the Chinese arguments saying that China had flouted a July 2014 deadline to bring its antidumping and countervailing duties on U.S. broiler products in line with commitments made by China under the WTO’s agreement on anti-dumping. The United States argued at the recent meeting in Geneva that trade data proved that the increase in American broiler product exports to China had not increased at the expense of the domestic industry and could not have been injurious to the commercial health of the Chinese broiler sector.
The WTO will now set up a panel and a ruling could come later this year. China could appeal a negative decision. However, if that failed, the WTO could authorize the United States to impose retaliatory duties on Chinese exports. The European Union, Canada, and Japan have indicated that they were interested in participating in the dispute as third parties.
