China Dropping Sorghum Antidumping Case

China announced it will no longer collect 178.6 percent cash deposits on U.S. sorghum, because the antidumping case is not in the public interest. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said on May 18 that continuing the duties would drive inflation for consumers. Sorghum is mostly fed to livestock in China, as corn prices rise. The deposits are being returned, Bloomberg reported. China imported about $957 million of U.S. sorghum in 2017 and purchases were down 15 percent in the first quarter compared to a year earlier, Bloomberg reported, citing Customs data. Farmers had used the grain in animal feed in place of domestic corn, which climbed 20 percent last year.

The antidumping case was announced a month ago (see 1804180045), and was seen as retaliation for U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters in China that reports that China would agree to reduce its trade deficit with the U.S. by $200 million are wrong. "This rumor is not true. This I can confirm to you," Lu said.