Trade indigestion: US slaps hefty duty on Chinese MSG

 The United States on Friday hit imports of food enhancer MSGfrom China with high duties, saying the country is dumping the product in the USmarket at below cost.The Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration (ITC) said itwould collect a 52 percent anti-dumping duty on China-sourced monosodiumglutamate.MSG is used in many prepared foods to boost taste, and because it is widely foundin Asian foods, it is often blamed for after-meal aches called Chinese RestaurantSyndrome.The decision Friday hits trade that amounted to 26,600 tonnes of MSG bought fromChina last year, worth $33.5 million.The action was a response to a petition by the US arm of Japanese food giantAjinomoto, a leading global producer of MSG.Two Chinese producer-exporters were singled out in the complaint: the MeihuaGroup and Shandong Linghua Monosodium Glutamate Inc.The ITC also hit Indonesian MSG exporters, and specifically  PT Cheil Jedangindonesia, with a 5.6 percent anti-dumping duty. Indonesia shipped 4,500 tonnes ofMSG to the United States last year, worth $6 million.The ITC decision is preliminary; a final ruling will be made in November.