China’s Ministry of Commerce has removed the preliminary anti-dumping duties on U.S. sorghum. An import duty of 178.6 percent had been collected starting on April 18.  The anti-dumping and countervailing-duty investigations by China on imports of U.S. sorghum began in February 2018 and have now been terminated.

The United States and China are currently in discussions on a range of trade issues. These include the steel and aluminum tariffs imposed on China and the potential for $50 billion of tariffs on imported goods from China. China has imposed retaliatory tariffs on pork, tree nuts, fruit, wine and other products in response to the steel and aluminum tariffs. The U.S. and China have agreed to continue discussions and the U.S. has put a hold on the potential imposition of tariffs on imports of Chinese goods.

The duties applied to the current sorghum crop from the United States. It is uncertain if the duties will apply to future U.S. sorghum exports to China.  

The U.S. exported more than 4.8 million tons of sorghum to China in 2017, worth over $970 million. Read the Agriculture Department’s announcement to learn more. An AFBF Market Intel article also provides perspective on this issue.