China protests US anti-dumping duties on steel products

Denouncing anti-dumping duties on its steel products, China today asked the US to be more prudent in using trade remedy measures in the steel sector, as it hurts the interests of companies in both the countries.
On Friday, the US International Trade Commission ruled that its domestic industry was "materially injured" by imports of corrosion-resistant steel products from China, India, Italy and the Republic of Korea.
In a determination last month, the US Commerce Department set an anti-dumping duty rate of 209.97 per cent and countervailing duty rates at least 39.05 per cent for products from China.
Friday's final ruling was the second made by the US trade authority against imports of Chinese steel last week.

On Wednesday, the US decided to impose anti-dumping and countervailing duties on cold-rolled steel flat products from China.
High duties will drive the two kinds of Chinese products out of the US market and hurt the interests of Chinese exporters, who have voiced their discontent, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said in a statement today.

China is taking and will continue to take all possible measures, including filing WTO complaints, to pursue fair treatment for Chinese enterprises and protect their interests, it said.
In the long haul, the US protectionist measures will also make its own steel industry less competitive, and thus may hurt its economy, the statement warned.

The current difficulties being experienced in the steel industry around the world are the result of the global financial crisis, and resorting to frequent protectionist measures will not help resolve the issue, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted MOC statement as saying.