The move follows the launch of China's legal dispute against the European Union (EU) on 8 April this year.

The EU has insisted its duties are in line with WTO rules and was ready to defend them before a panel. However, China claims the measures are inconsistent with Articles I, II, XIII and XXVIII of The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 and says the EU allocates 96% of its low-tariff quota to Brazil and Thailand, following changes in March 2013, with only 4% left for China and other countries.

This means most Chinese poultry exporters face a tariff 40% higher than other nations.

The EU is mostly self-sufficient when it comes to poultry production, as it is one of the world's top producers in poultry meat. The leading countries in poultry meat production are Poland (13.7 %), France (12.7 %), closely followed by UK (12.4 %), Germany (11.4 %) and Spain (11.1 %).

These five countries ensure 61.3% of the EU production of poultry meat.

The EU imports high value products such as poultry breasts and cooked preparations mainly from Brazil (60% of total) and Thailand (30% of total). The average value of imports was 2.59 EUR/kg in 2014.