Almost exactly one year after initiating anti-dumping countervailing duty investigations into U.S. produced distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has announced anti-dumping and countervailing duties beginning today. The decision comes just ten days after action by the Chinese government to increase tariffs on imported U.S. ethanol from 5 to 30 percent.

“The U.S. Grains Council 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 investigations,” said USGC President and CEO Tom Sleight in a statement.

The U.S. industry even hosted MOFCOM investigators at several U.S. production facilities, including the Marquis Energy facility in Hennepin, Illinois. CEO Mark Marquis says the tariffs will severely impact what has been the largest market for U.S. distillers feed exports and a growing ethanol export destination. “These tariffs are the poster child of bad trade deals,” said Marquis. “It is our opinion that the Chinese calculations are not in line with WTO trade rules.”

Sleight says the actions do raise serious questions about China’s international obligations and could impact future involvement of the USGC in that country. “This new year marks the 35th anniversary of U.S. Grains Council programs in China,” said Sleight. “The implication of these recent moves is clearly that we are less than welcome in their market, and this will challenge the extent of our engagement with China.”