US wins WTO poultry case against China
The United States has won a major case at the World Trade Organization (WTO) on behalf of American chicken producers, proving that China’s imposition of higher duties on chicken “broiler products” is unjustified under international trade rules.
Following China’s action, American exports of chicken products dropped by 80%.
A WTO dispute settlement panel agreed with the United States, finding that China violated numerous WTO obligations in conducting its investigations and imposing anti-dumping duties and countervailing duties on chicken imports from the United States.
In response to the victory, Bill Lovette, National Chicken Council chairman and president and CEO of Pilgrim’s Pride, released the following statement:
“This announcement is welcome news to US poultry producers and the US poultry industry. Regaining meaningful access to this critical market presents an opportunity to compete in a valuable and viable export market.
“We thank United States Trade Representative Michael Froman, Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack for their successful efforts to secure a fair international playing field for the US chicken industry.
“We look forward to sharing the high quality poultry products that American consumers enjoy every day with our partners and customers in China.”
This is the second of three recent WTO disputes in which the United States has challenged important flaws in China’s administration of its anti-dumping and countervailing duty measures. The United States has prevailed in the first two disputes, on a specialty steel product and now on chicken broiler products, and is actively litigating a third regarding automobiles.
In September 2011, the United States requested that the WTO establish a panel to hear US claims that China violated a number of procedural and substantive obligations under the WTO’s Anti-dumping Agreement and Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. In its report, the WTO panel found in favor of the United States on nearly all US claims. The United States may request adoption of the panel report by the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body. Both parties have the right to appeal issues of law or legal interpretation in the panel report to the WTO Appellate Body.
