9-15 news: Poultry industry protests China's chicken dumping investigation
“China’s announcement is obviously in direct retaliation for the U.S. action in putting tariffs on tires made in China,” said a statement from the National Chicken Council. “Charges of dumping of poultry products are completely unjustified. Our companies engage in normal trade with China, not dumping. We believe chicken is being targeted by the Chinese because of the concerns they have expressed over the provision in the U.S. appropriations act that prohibits the U.S. Department of Agriculture from determining China’s ability to ship fully cooked poultry products to the United States.” China has requested a dispute resolution panel from the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the appropriations provision.
Jim Sumner, president of the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council, noted that only 20 percent of U.S. chicken is exported, and any retaliatory attempt by China could hurt the industry. "Our industry is operating on minimally profitable levels at this time, so this would certainly not help the industry," Sumner said. He noted that the problem stemmed from government actions, including the tire tariffs and the decision to refuse exports of Chinese cooked poultry.