FOOD AND HEALTH ESSENTIALS

China imposes temporary tariffs on Brazilian chicken

China says that it will begin imposing monetary “deposits” on imports of chicken meat from Brazil to partially compensate for what it calls “substantial damage” from years of Brazilian chicken exports to that country.

According a report by international news organization Reuters, importers of Brazilian chicken will be required to pay Chinese authorities between about 19 and 38 percent of the total value of their shipments, beginning as of June 9th. While the payments are classified as “deposits” that can theoretically be refunded at some point, few in industry expect that the surcharge will ever be returned to the importers.

China’s Ministry of Commerce estimates that chicken shipments from Brazil constituted more than half of China’s imports of chicken meat during the years between 2013 and 2016. The required deposits on Brazilian chicken come one year after China imposed similar financial penalties on sugar imported from Brazil.

Some trade experts see China’s action against Brazil as part of a larger global trade picture. The Reuters report points to China’s recent decision to increase imports of farm products and goods from the U.S. to head off a China-U.S. trade war as a possible motive for the action against Brazil.

The text of the Reuters article on China’s tariff actions against Brazilian chicken is available here.