China's Ministry of Commerce made a decision on December 25 to reinvestigate its anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on U.S. white-feathered broiler chicken imports in response to a WTO report that found China had violated certain rules.

China will review the evidence and information collected during the previous investigation and re-examine them through surveys and hearings.

Disputes over broiler chickens—chickens that are able to reach slaughter weight by about 13 weeks of age—have been a major source of contention in the trade relations between the world's two largest economies.

China imposed anti-dumping duties on chickens imported from the United States in September 2010, claiming that the chickens were subsidized in the United States and then unloaded onto the Chinese market at a price less than the fair value.

Washington requested consultations with Beijing immediately after China imposed duties and then appealed to the WTO in September 2011.

In September 2013, the WTO Dispute Settlement Body adopted a panel report supporting China's arguments regarding determination of domestic industry and trade level differences.

It also upheld the U.S. claims that China acted inconsistently with certain articles of the Anti-Dumping Agreement in conducting the investigations as well as in the calculation of the anti-dumping and countervailing duties.