As trade spat grows, China hits US sorghum imports with hefty 179% deposit

China's Commerce Ministry announced on Tuesday that it will impose provisional anti-dumping measures on sorghum grain imported from the US.

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

Starting from Wednesday, importers of the product will be required to pay deposits with Chinese customs based on a rate of 178.6 per cent, according to the ministry.

Data from the ministry showed US' sorghum exports to China surged from 317,000 tonnes in 2013 to 4.76 million tonnes in 2017, while export prices slumped 31 per cent during the period, leading 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 was in accordance with Chinese laws and WTO rules and was aimed at correcting unfair practices to maintain a healthy trade order.

"China has always opposed abuses of trade remedy measures... China is willing to expand cooperation with the US side to reduce disagreements in the trade field," Wang said.

The Commerce Ministry decided to launch anti-dumping and anti-subsidy probes into US' sorghum in early February. The ruling for anti-subsidy probe will be released later as the two probes involve different procedures and entities, according to Wang.