Cooper, Goodyear shares up on US-China trade clash

* Cooper up 11 pct; Goodyear up 4 pct

* China response sends Tyson shares down 2.75 pct

DETROIT, Sept 14 - Shares of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co and Cooper Tire & Rubber Co jumped on Monday after the Obama administration announced plans to impose steep additional duties on tire imports from China.

China denounced the U.S. decision, disclosed Friday, as trade protectionism and said it had launched an anti-dumping investigation into imports of U.S. chicken products and auto parts.

The Chinese response hit shares of Tyson Foods Inc, the largest U.S. meat company.

Cooper shares rose 11 percent, while shares of Goodyear, the largest U.S. tire maker, climbed 4 percent.

JP Morgan analyst Himanshu Patel said the additional duties on Chinese tires, imposed for three years, would be a largely positive development for Cooper and neutral to modestly positive for Goodyear. He has an "overweight" rating on both stocks.

The decision "raises the prospect for price hikes on low-end tires, which may bolster (Cooper's) fourth-quarter outlook," Patel said in a note to clients.

He said chances of share repurchases by Cooper had increased thanks to the company's strong balance sheet, improved near-term cash-generation outlook, and low acquisition odds.

Patel said the new duties would impede Cooper's ability to import up to 3 million tires from its own China operations but should curtail other imports as well, allowing Cooper to raise prices on low-end tires that make up about 40 percent of its volume.

The new duties of 35 percent on Chinese tire imports will take effect Sept. 26 and add to an existing 4 percent duty. The new duties would fall to 30 percent in the second year and to 25 percent in the third year.

The new duties are lower than the U.S. International Trade Commission had recommended. The United Steelworkers union had filed a petition earlier in 2009 that sought the protection.

Cooper shares were up $1.65 at $16.22 in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange, while Goodyear shares were up 77 cents at $18.04.

Tyson shares were down 35 cents at $12.40. In fiscal 2008 the company exported $1.6 billion worth of chicken, and about $192 million went to China.