18 March 2009

China Threatens WTO Case Against U.S. Ban on Poultry Imports

This article is excerpted from the 18 March 2009 edition of “WorldTrade Interactive”.

Chinese officials said last week that Beijing could file a World Trade Organization complaint against the U.S. over a provision in the omnibus 2009 appropriations bill that essentially bans imports of Chinese poultry.

… In a diplomatic note to the U.S. China added that the poultry ban “has triggered strong reactions in China,” where many lawmakers have asked the government to adopt similar restrictions on poultry products imported from the U.S. The note urged the U.S. to remove the ban but said that in the meantime China will “raise complaints to the WTO … and maintain the right of further measures.”

According to press reports, the U.S. and China each banned poultry imports from the other in 2004 due to concerns over the spread of avian influenza. China lifted its ban shortly thereafter and the U.S. now supplies nearly 75 percent of the Chinese market for imported poultry. The U.S. has not reciprocated….

China argues that it exports poultry meat to many countries around the world and that the quality of these shipments is “recognized broadly by the international community.”