China raises tariff on US chicken

The Chinese government has announced it will introduce a series of tariffs aimed at US chicken products imported into the country.

Those importing broiler chicken products to China from the USA will pay the tariffs based on the alleged US government subsidy rate of 3.8-31.4% of the import price, the AFP news agency reports.

The tariffs will be collected from Friday (30 April) and are aimed to protect Chinese producers from US product which makes up more than 70% of China’s total chicken meat imports.

This is not the first time this year China has taken action against US imports, slapping a 105.4% tariff on broiler chicken in February.

Tariffs are symptomatic of a current clash between China and the USA over various trade issues, including steel, chemicals and paper, due to criticism that the Chinese currency is being kept artificially low to help exporters.