Chinese tires have not hurt US industry

    THE U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) said Wednesday that subsidized bus and truck tires imported from China had not damaged the U.S. industry.

    As a result, the ITC said in a statement that it would not issue anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders on imports of these products. The ruling followed negative votes by three of the five members of the commission who voted, the ITC said in its statement. It said one of the six commissioners did not participate.

    The U.S. Commerce Department on Jan. 23 had determined final subsidy rates ranging from 38.61 percent to 65.46 percent and anti-dumping margins ranging from 9 percent to 22.57 percent on such imports.

    Chemchina extends tender offer for Syngenta

    CHINA National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina) has extended until April 28 its US$43 billion tender offer for Swiss pesticides and seeds group Syngenta, it said Thursday.

    The offer had previously been set to expire March 2.

    “As previously stated, extensions to the tender offers are expected to occur until all conditions to the offers are satisfied, including obtaining all applicable regulatory approvals. All of the other terms and conditions of the tender offers remain unchanged,” it said in a statement.

    Zhenhua Oil to buy Chevron’s Bangladesh gas fields

    STATE-RUN Zhenhua Oil has signed a preliminary deal with Chevron to buy the U.S. oil major’s natural gas fields in Bangladesh that are worth about US$2 billion, two Chinese oil executives said.

    Zhenhua is a subsidiary of China’s defense industry conglomerate NORINCO. A completed deal would mark China’s first major energy investment in the South Asian country.

    Food, drug safety targets revised for 2020

    CHINA has revised 2020 regulatory targets for food and drug safety in a bid to crack down on illegal activity and lax regulation.

    The State Council, in guidelines published Tuesday, upgraded surveillance measures for imported and exported goods and raised the maximum acceptable limits of pesticide and antibiotic residues in produce. The plan requires 50 countries that export a high volume of food products to China to make additional safety assessments and calls for the construction of 20 ports designated for food inspection and quarantine.