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Shoes - China has requested a dispute settlement panel on anti-dumping duties imposed by the European Union on Chinese leather shoes. Beijing launched the complaint after the EU decided in December to prolong for another 15 months duties initially imposed in October 2006. Brussels has defended the tariffs, ranging from 9.7 to 16.5 percent, as necessary to protect European manufacturers against unfair competition, but China argues that no damage has been done to the shoe industry, which employs some 260,000 workers. A number of European retailers agree with China that instead of benefiting local manufacturers, the tariffs simply give an advantage to other low-cost countries and hurt the interests of EU consumers.
Poultry - US poultry exports to China have ground to a virtual halt following Beijing’s February decision to levy hefty anti-dumping duties on chicken feet, wings and leg quarters. The tariffs range from 43.1 percent to 105.4 percent.
China is the largest market for US chicken exports, valued at US$722 million in 2008. Chicken feet accounted for almost half of US poultry exports prior to the tariffs. The parts would be sold as scrap to be turned into animal feed in the US, but they are considered a delicacy in China, where they can fetch 60-80 cents a pound. Wings are also popular in China, but find few buyers in the US.
China’s ministry of commerce said its investigations showed that the US was dumping chicken products on the Chinese market, causing ‘substantial damage’ to domestic industry.
While no official link exists, the duties are widely perceived as retaliation for the punitive tariffs the US imposed on Chinese tyres in September (Bridges Year 14 No.1 page 13).
The US Trade Representative’s Office is “following the investigation closely.”
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