Sino-US trade dispute flares up

The United States on Thursday slapped preliminary anti-dumping duties above 99 per cent on Chinese-made oil well pipes, further escalating a dispute over anti-dumping duties of 36.53 per cent imposed last month on the over $2.60 billion worth of tubular steel that Chinese companies sell in the US.

The anti-dumping duty is over and above the countervailing duties of up to 36.53 per cent imposed on "oil country tubular goods" produced or exported by Tianjin Pipe International Economic and Trading Corp, Zhejiang Jianli Co, Wuxi Seamless Pipe Co and some other Chinese companies.

The US commerce department, however, exempted one Chinese company, Jiangsu Changbao Steel Co, from the 99.14 per cent "China-wide" anti-dumping duty.

The US International Trade Commission will also decide today on three more investigations covering coated paper, certain steel fasteners and sodium and potassium phosphate salts from China.

The US commerce department had earlier imposed safeguard duties of up to 35 per cent on Chinese-made tyres, following a complaint by labour unions that cheap imports from China were forcing US factories to close.

The countervailing duty on tyres would fall to 30 per cent in the second year and 25 per cent in the third year.