China to reinvestigate duties on US chicken imports

China's Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday decided to reinvestigate its anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on U.S. white-feathered broiler products in response to a WTO report that found China had violated certain rules.

China will review the evidence and information collected during the previous investigation and re-examine them through surveys and hearings, the ministry said in an online statement.

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 imposed anti-dumping duties on chicken products imported from the Unites States in September 2010, claiming that the chicken products were subsidized in the Unites States and then unloaded onto the Chinese market at a price less than the fair value.

Washington requested consultation with Beijing immediately after China imposed duties and then appealed to the WTO in September 2011.

In September this year, the WTO Dispute Settlement Body adopted a panel report supporting China's arguments regarding determination of domestic industry and trade level differences.

It also upheld the U.S. claims that China acted inconsistently with certain articles of the Anti-Dumping Agreement in conducting the investigations as well as in the calculation of the anti-dumping and countervailing duties.