The government plans to file a complaint with the World Trade Organization against US measures that ban chicken imports from China, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said yesterday.

The US Senate on Tuesday passed an omnibus act on government spending, which includes an article targeting Chinese poultry products.

It stipulates that "none of the funds made available in this Act may be used to establish or implement a rule allowing poultry products to be imported into the United States from the People's Republic of China".

Experts say although the ban involves only a small monetary value, it smacks of US trade protectionism amid the global economic downturn.

"This is a typical discriminatory and protectionist measure," said Yao Jian, spokesman for the MOC. Yao said that apart from filing a WTO complaint, China "retains the right to take further measures."

"The trade value of poultry products is a tiny part of bilateral trade, but it sets a bad example for US trade policies," said Tu Xinquan, a WTO expert at the University of International Business and Economics.

"It is against WTO rules, and it especially picks on China," he said.

The poultry sector also said the measure is unfair and has a negative influence on business.

Qiu Huaiyuan, a manager at Qinhuangdao Chiatai Co Ltd, one of the country's major poultry exporters, said: "The move is one-sided and unreasonable."

He noted that the US has exported many poultry products to China at a low price to compete in the domestic market.

China and the US agreed in 2004 to resume trade in poultry products, lifting a suspension after the bird flu outbreak. China has opened its market since, but no Chinese poultry products have been exported to the US due to the restrictions.

The US has said there are no problems with Chinese poultry products in terms of food security, and it only has to pass the legal procedures, according to the MOC.

China has imported more than 4 million tons of poultry products from the US over the past five years, accounting for more than 75 percent of total poultry imports and 7 percent of the country's total poultry market.

Some members of the National People's Congress attending the ongoing annual session in Beijing have urged the government to take retaliatory action against US poultry exports to China.

But Yao said China would act according to WTO rules instead of taking retaliation measures.

Li Wei, a researcher at the MOC, said: "Trade retaliation is good for no one. It will finally take a toll on global trade."

(Shanghai Daily March 12, 2009)