Visitors to the 21st China Beijing International High-tech Expo look at robots and helicopter drone displayed in Beijing, China, Thursday, May 17, 2018. The Trump administration has threatened to impose tariffs on up to $150 billion in Chinese imports to punish Beijing over trade practices requiring American companies to hand over technology in exchange for access to the Chinese market. China has counterpunched by targeting $50 billion in U.S. products.(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
May 17, 2018 - 8:46 PM
HONG KONG - As China-U.S. trade talks resume in Washington, China says it is dropping an anti-dumping investigation into imported U.S. sorghum, saying it is not in the public interest.
The Commerce Ministry said in a statement Friday that it was ending the probe because it concluded that "anti-dumping and countervailing measures" on imports would have affected the cost of living for Chinese consumers.
The ministry started investigating U.S. sorghum earlier this year after finding that large volumes and falling prices hurt Chinese producers.
The probe had sparked fears among American farmers that they would lose their largest export market for the crop.
The announcement comes as senior Chinese and U.S. officials hold more talks in Washington aimed at averting a trade war between the world's two biggest economies.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018