China, U.S. trade disputes widen

China pushed back against U.S. tariffs on its products Sunday, with anti-dumping and anti-subsidies inquiries into American automotive and chicken products.

Announcing the measures, the Chinese Commerce Ministry did not call them retaliation but responses to domestic concerns, adding they are in line with World Trade Organization rules, the China Daily reported.

The ministry, while stressing its stand against protectionism, said Chinese businesses had complained that U.S.-made products entered the nation’s markets with unfair competition and harmed domestic industries.

The New York Times said the Chinese retaliatory steps come in response to U.S. President Barack Obama’s decision Friday to impose up to 35 percent tariffs on Chinese tire imports.

Chinese tire exports totaled about $1.3 billion in the first seven months of this year. During the same period, the United States exported about $800 million worth of automotive products and $376 million worth of chicken meat to China, the Times reported, citing figures from the Global Trade Information Services in Columbia, S.C.

Over the weekend, there had been several strong statements on Chinese Web sites against the U.S. decision, including calls for selling off China’s holdings of U.S. Treasuries, the report said.

China holds more than $700 billion of U.S. Treasuries, making it the largest creditor to Washington. President Obama is scheduled to travel to Beijing in November.

Eswar Prasad, a former China division chief at the International Monetary Fund, told the Times the widening trade disputes between the two countries could worsen.