Joseph Bonney | Sep 20, 2011 2:59PM EDT
The U.S. challenged China’s “wrongful imposition” of antidumping and countervailing duties that a U.S. trade representative said could cost American poultry producers up to $1 billion this year.
The U.S. is seeking consultations through a World Trade Organization and can seek a WTO dispute panel if the issue can’t be settled within 60 days, said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk.
The USA Poultry & Egg Export Council and the National Chicken Council praised the trade representative’s action, which they said challenges China’s use of “average cost of production” instead of U.S. market prices to determine whether antidumping rules were broken.
“The U.S. industry considers it unfortunate that this dispute has to be addressed through the formal WTO process, but believes that it is necessary that this incorrect methodology be challenged and that U.S. trading rights guaranteed by WTO agreements be protected,” the industry organizations said in a statement.
The case has “direct implications” for other WTO members’ previous dumping cases based on incorrect calculations of the average cost of production, the groups said.
-- Contact Joseph Bonney at jbonney@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @josephbonney.