China to impose more tariffs on US chicken imports

China will impose an additional duty on US chicken imports of as high as 31.4% in response to what it called unfair subsidies for poultry farmers.

An initial investigation showed that the US provides subsidised soy and corn to its poultry industry, hurting Chinese producers, the Ministry of Commerce said on its website. Importers must pay the new tariff on top of anti-dumping duties of as much as 105.4% imposed in February.

President Barack Obama in September placed tariffs on automobile tires from China after labour union complaints that imports were pushing US factory workers out of jobs. In February, China, the largest market for US chicken, said it would impose anti-dumping duties on imports of poultry products.

''These taxes effectively make it impossible to import any US chicken products,'' analyst Li Qiang said. ''US chicken product exports to China have already shrunk drastically since the announcement of an anti-dumping duty.''

China consumed almost 800,000 tonnes of US chicken in 2008, valued at US$722 million, according to the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council. Actual imports were probably higher, at more than one million tonnes, because of shipments transferred through Hong Kong and Macau, Li added.

Chinese consumers are fond of chicken feet, innards and other parts that US consumers do not eat, while the US is a market for Chinese chicken breasts. Two-way trade in chicken is mutually complementary, Li said.

Imports by Pilgrim's Pride Corp. will incur a 4.9% preliminary anti-subsidy duty and imports by Tyson Foods Inc. 11.2%, according to the ministry. Companies that did not cooperate with the investigation will have a 31.4% duty levied on products, it said.