U.S. Grains Council disappointed by China's new duties, ethanol tariffs

The U.S. Grains Council said it is disappointed by several actions China has taken to restrict access for U.S. feed grain and related products, such as ethanol and distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS). 

Following a dramatic increase in the importation of ethanol from the U.S., China recently added anti-dumping duties on U.S. distiller's dried grains with solubles, an action that came 10 days after increasing tariffs on imported ethanol from 5 to 30 percent, the council said on its website.

“The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) is deeply disappointed in this series of events that is a severe departure from our industry's three decades of broad, cooperative work with China's government and livestock industry and that follows a year of extensive cooperation on the part of the U.S. DDGS and ethanol industry with MOFCOM ( China's Ministry of Commerce) investigations," U.S. Grains Council President and CEO Tom Sleight said in the article.

The U.S. Grains Council said these actions will harm the Chinese people as well. “The decisions to raise tariffs on ethanol and to further delay the approval of helpful plant technology that enhances food safety and environmental protection are short-sighted trade barriers that also, ultimately, most hurt the Chinese people who deserve cleaner air and increased food security through both production and trade,” the article said.

“Protectionist trade restrictions based on false allegations do not benefit either China or the United States and represent a threat to a global trading system that has promoted consumer welfare and jobs around the world while lifting millions of families out of poverty,” Sleight said in the article.