The commerce ministry of China has slapped final tariffs on US based chicken products it claims received government subsidies, and thereby caused substantial damage to its domestic broiler chicken industry.
The ministry said importers of white-feathered broiler chicken products will have
to pay equivalent duty based on the alleged US government subsidy of 4 to 30.3 percent of the import price.
The ruling, which comes into effect on Monday, will remain in place for five years, the ministry said. China first imposed preliminary tariffs of 3.8-31.4 percent back in April.
A broiler is a type of chicken raised specifically for meat production. The United States is the single largest exporter of broiler to China, accounting for almost 70 percent of all Chinese imports.
The anti-subsidy action comes after China in February slapped preliminary anti-dumping duties of up to 105.4 percent on the same US chicken products.
China and the United States have been at odds over a range of trade issues from steel and paper to chemicals, amidst a spat over the value of the yuan, which critics say has been kept low to give its exporters an unfair advantage.