Anti-dumping measures take effect today

CHINA’S Ministry of Commerce announced yesterday that it will impose provisional antidumping measures on grain sorghum imported from the United States.

A preliminary ruling by the ministry found that US companies had dumped grain sorghum on the Chinese market, and such imports had caused substantial damage to the domestic industry.

Starting today, importers of the product will be required to pay deposits with Chinese customs calculated based on a rate of 178.6 percent.

Data from the ministry showed US sorghum exports to China surged from 317,000 tons in 2013 to 4.76 million tons in 2017, while export prices have slumped 31 percent during the period, which led to a fall in domestic prices that hurt local industries.

Wang Hejun, head of the ministry’s trade remedy and investigation bureau, said the decision is in accordance with Chinese laws and WTO rules, and is aimed at correcting unfair practices to maintain a heathy trade order.

“China has always opposed abuses of trade remedy measures,” Wang said, adding China is willing to expand cooperation with the US to reduce trade disagreements.

Also yesterday, China’s Foreign Ministry said if the US continues to jeopardize multilateralism and free trade, China will take measures to protect them.

During talks with China in the past few days, Japan and India both expressed their support for the multilateral trading system and global free trade regime with the World Trade Organization at the core, the ministry said.