On September 20, USTR filed a WTO case challenging China's restrictions on certain U.S. chicken imports and requesting dispute settlement consultations. Since September 2009, China has imposed antidumping duties on U.S. broiler chicken products (chicken products not cut into pieces, and various chicken cuts and pieces), which it claims were subsidized and sold at less than fair value in the Chinese market. Prior to September 2009, the United States was China's largest supplier of chicken broiler products, but these U.S. exports to China have since dropped by ninety percent, costing the U.S. poultry industry nearly $1 billion in sales to China so far.
WTO rules permit member countries to impose duties on imports of merchandise that are found to be dumped or subsidized in ways injurious to the domestic industry, but imposes a variety of rules regarding the conduct of investigations and making determinations. The U.S. asserts that China has not followed various specific procedures and legal standards required under WTO rules when conducting investigations and making determinations. Specifically, the U.S. argues that China has failed to observe numerous WTO transparency and due process requirements; has not yet properly explained the grounds for its findings; has incorrectly calculated the dumping margins and subsidy rates; and has not supported its claims of injury to China's domestic industry.
