Comment follows ruling on steel duties
China has urged the U.S. to strictly follow WTO rules, assume its obligations to the international community and be cautious about taking trade remedy measures, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said Thursday in a statement posted on its website.
The statement came after the U.S. Department of Commerce's final ruling on Wednesday imposed anti-dumping duties of 209.97 percent and countervailing duties of 39.05 percent on corrosion-resistant plates imported from China.
The duties are several times higher than those imposed on other countries and regions in the same case.
The duty ruling is part of an ongoing U.S. effort to suppress large-scale imports from China. The effort isn't market-based and can be seen as placing artificial barriers against Chinese products, the MOFCOM noted.
This action will not only hurt the interests of Chinese steel companies. It will also hinder bilateral business trade and cooperation and lead to the opposite of effective disagreement control and China-U.S. economic and trade relations development, said the statement.
The Chinese government is "strongly dissatisfied" with the unfounded actions of the U.S. and will take all necessary measures to deal with the issue and strive for fair treatment to protect the interests of domestic firms, said the MOFCOM.
The U.S. launched 43 anti-dumping and 22 anti-subsidy investigations in 2015, making it the largest user of trade remedy investigation tools among WTO members, the MOFCOM noted, citing WTO statistics.
The figure shows that despite other countries' efforts to remove trade barriers and promote trade liberalization, the U.S. is locking up its domestic market and implementing trade protectionism in the name of trade remedy.
There has been a rising number of anti-dumping measures against Chinese steel exports recently, amid overcapacity in the global market.
The troubles in the global steel industry have not only been caused by Chinese exports, experts said, noting that factors like the sluggish global economy and weak demand are also key factors.
Joint efforts are needed to address the issue and taking protectionist measures will not help tackle the challenges faced by the global markets, according to the MOFCOM.
