China`s Trade Retaliation toward Korea and Japan

The Chinese government declared the trade sanctions toward Korea and Japan.

The Ministry of Foreign Trade & Economic Cooperation (MFTEC) of China announced to launch the counter-dumping investigation on the Lysine, an animal feed additive from 19th, and to levy the counter-dumping tariffs through the evaluation of the Lysine`s sales price and the damaged scale. The MFTEC told that the investigation will take a year to 18 months.

The Korean companies such as the Korea Basf (20,000t) and the Indonesia Cheil Samsung, an affiliate of Cheil Jedang (20,000t), have occupied over 70 percent among the total amount of Lysine imported to China (56,000t). The total sum of export amounted to $80 million.

The Lysine companies viewed China`s counter-dumping investigation as a kind of trade retaliation against the Korean government`s measure to temporarily stop the importation of poultry produced in China because of the alleged bird flu infection.

Meanwhile, China declared to levy extra-tariffs on the Japanese exports of automobiles, mobile phones, and air-conditioners, in response to the Japan`s safeguard toward 3 Chinese agricultural products such as the scallion and the restrictive measure to stop the imports of the Chinese poultry.

China had decided to levy the counter-tariffs of 31-69 percent on the Acrylic Ester produced in Japan and the U.S. in the beginning of this month.

Lee Jong-Hwan ljhzip@donga.com