China extends anti-dumping duties on US chicken for 5 years

BEIJING - China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) announced Monday that it will extend anti-dumping duties on US white-feathered broiler chickens for another five years, starting Tuesday.

China imposed anti-dumping duties on chicken products imported from the Unites States in September 2010, claiming that chicken products subsidized in the Unites States were being dumped on the Chinese market at lower than market prices.

The latest decision followed a review launched a year ago that found the domestic industry could be harmed if anti-dumping duties were discontinued.

The MOC said duties would remain unchanged at 46.6 percent to 73.8 percent.

Disputes over broiler chickens -- chickens that reach slaughter weight by about 13 weeks of age -- have been a major source of contention in the often tense trade relations between the world's two largest economies.

China also imposed anti-subsidy duties of around 4 percent on US broiler chicken products.