By Jerry Hagstrom
DTN Political Correspondent
WASHINGTON (DTN) -- Trade Representative Michael Froman announced Tuesday that the United States is mounting a challenge in the World Trade Organization to China's continued use of antidumping and countervailing duties against imports of U.S. chicken broiler products.
In bringing the case, the U.S. further escalated its trade disputes with China while Froman also declared the case proves that the United States would enforce trade rules if Congress approves the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.
"This trade enforcement action marks the 12th complaint brought by the Obama administration against China at the WTO, and the United States is firmly committed to ensuring that China lives up to its WTO obligations, and that American farmers and workers can compete and win on a level playing field in the global economy," Froman said at a Capitol Hill news conference as he was flanked by senators and Agriculture Acting Deputy Secretary Michael Scuse.
USTR officials said that the United States was exporting broilers valued at $800 million in 2010 when China imposed antidumping and countervailing duties on U.S. chicken products that totaled more than 100% of their value. The duties have cost U.S. poultry growers $1 billion in sales and essentially closed the Chinese market to U.S. products, said Scuse, who previously was agriculture secretary in Delaware, one of the biggest poultry-producing states.
China has maintained that U.S. companies, including Tyson and Pilgrim's Pride, have been dumping chicken at prices below the cost of production. U.S. claims include China's failure to properly calculate costs of production for a U.S. producer, a failure to conduct a transparent reinvestigation, and various failures with respect to China's finding that the Chinese industry has been injured on account of U.S. exports.
China cut off all imports of U.S. poultry early 2015 after highly-pathogenic avian influenza began hitting U.S. poultry flocks. China has since refused to allow U.S. poultry products back into the country.
A WTO panel has already ruled against the Chinese duties, but China undertook another investigation and claimed they were justified at a lower level. The current challenge is technically a continuation of that case. Chinese officials claim they have new data, but U.S. officials disagree that it justifies the duties.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, praised Froman for USTR's work in opening up the South African market for American poultry, but said that paled in comparison with today's action because the Chinese market is so much bigger.
"We are heartened to see that USTR will not back down when it comes to enforcing our rights and in making sure we truly get the market access we bargained for," the National Chicken Council and the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council said in a joint statement.
As one of the main export destinations for products such as chicken paws and wingtips, China is an important market to the United States, the chicken groups said.
"We are enthusiastic supporters of Ambassador Froman's action," American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said in a statement.
"China is misusing anti-dumping rules. China's actions keep U.S. poultry from being sold to Chinese consumers at a price that reflects a fair profit for American farmers and real value for its own citizens," Duvall added.
(CC/AG)
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