US looks at new duties on China steel pipes
The US Department of Commerce announced on last Wednesday that it would launch an investigation into the import of seamless steel pipes from China, a move that could lead to new duties being imposed and strain already sour trade relations between Washington and Beijing.
The US investigations, which could lead to a 98.7 per cent duty on Chinese steel pipes imports, came shortly after a European Union decision to impose anti-dumping tariffs on the same category of products.
According to the Department of Commerce, imports of Chinese steel pipes jumped 132 per cent from 158,128 tonnes in 2006 to 366,091 tonnes in 2008. In value terms, they had risen by 218 per cent to $382m last year.
A full-blown trade row erupted last month after Barack Obama, US president, signed an order to impose a duty of 35 per cent on Chinese tyre imports on top of an existing 4 per cent tariff.
That was seen as his first big test on world trade since taking office in January, and the decision suggested Mr Obama sided with America’s trade unions, which have complained that a “surge” in imports of Chinese-made tyres had caused 7,000 job losses among US factory workers.
In retaliation, Beijing accused Washington of “rampant protectionism” and threatened action against imports of US poultry and vehicles.
The Chinese government had not reacted to last Wednesday’s announcement.
