US Imposes Duties On $269M Of Steel Products From China

-The Obama administration on Tuesday slapped preliminary duties on $269 million of steel products imported from China.

The countervailing duties ranging from 7.44% to 12.06% will affect imports of steel grating and prestressed concrete steel wire strand that five U.S. firms complained is being dumped into U.S. markets.

The Commerce Department determined that Chinese firms sold steel grating, which is used for walkways, platforms and flooring, at 7.44% less than the normal value in the U.S. The wire strand, typically used in concrete construction applications, was sold at 7.53% to 12.05% below normal value, Commerce said.

The duties are the latest sign of trade tension between the U.S. and China, and come weeks before President Barack Obama travels to Beijing to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao. Last month, the U.S. administration slapped duties on Chinese tire imports, a decision that reflected U.S manufacturers' concerns of unfair competition but raised the spectre of a larger trade war.

The Commerce Department said U.S. firms Alabama Metal Industries Corp. and Fisher & Ludlow petitioned for the duties on the Chinese steel grating, imports of which rose 538% from 2006 to 2008 to $90.7 million.

China's Ningbo Jiulong Machinery Manufacturing Co. and all other Chinese steel grating importers were imposed a duty of 7.44%.