China Imposes Duties on US, Russia Power Steel

Continuing its trade war with the US, China on April 13 imposed antidumping duties of up to 64.8 percent on U.S. and Russian steel used by the power industry.

In a statement issued here, China's Commerce Ministry said US producers of flat-rolled electrical steel received subsidies, and that hurt the Chinese industry substantially.

Duties of 7.8 percent were imposed on AK Steel Corp. and 19.9 percent on Allegheny Ludlum Corp., the two U.S. companies that responded to a one-year-long probe, while the rate was 64.8 percent for other U.S. producers, the ministry said. AK steel also faces anti-subsidy duties of 11.7 percent and Lodium 12 percent.

Russian producers OJSC Novolipetsk Steel and VIZ-Stal Ltd. were slapped with antidumping duties of 6.3 percent while other Russian companies were hit with a 24 percent duty.

The announcement came after the U.S. Commerce Department last week imposed antidumping duties of 99 percent on Chinese-made steel tubes used in oil and gas wells.

China and the US are in the midst of a series of disputes over access to each others' markets for tires, music, movies and other goods.