China to investigate 'dumping' allegations against US

China announced Sunday that it will investigate dumping allegations made against US auto and chicken producers, less than 48 hours after Washington imposed tariffs on Chinese tire exports, Bloomberg reported. The Ministry of Commerce said Chinese industries have complained of "unfair trade practices," specifically US companies either dumping products on China at below cost price or benefiting from subsidies. The US has imposed duties starting at 35% on passenger and light truck tires imported from China, a business that is said to be worth US$1.8 billion per year. The duties would decline to 30% in the second year and 25% in the third. China has said it may refer the case – which arose from a complaint filed by the United Steelworkers Union – to the WTO. The European Central Bank last week warned that rising protectionism would "significantly impair the global recovery process."