A Chinese Commerce Ministry investigation has concluded US and Russian exporters are dumping steel used for power generation.
It has ordered importers to pay deposits to compensate. Importers of flat-rolled electrical steel, a product used in the power industry, sold by US companies will have to pay dumping margins of 10.7% to 25%, the ministry said.
Importing the steel from Russian companies will incur similar subsidies of 4.6% to 25%. The deposits will be imposed pending final results of the investigation, which are also in retaliation for US subsidies for steel companies.
“The domestic steel industry has suffered substantial damage,” the ministry said, emphasising the measures were consistent with World Trade Organisation rules. China has defended similar probes of its own exporters, saying such moves are protectionism.
The US Commerce Department has imposed duties of up to 99% on imports of Chinese-made steel pipe used in the oil and gas industry. China says the US side used the wrong formula to calculate the cost of goods and the duties it imposed were too high.
