China Critical Of U.S. Anti-Dumping Move

BEIJING (AP) -- China criticized a U.S. decision to impose antidumping duties on Chinese-made pipes used by the oil and gas industry and appealed Wednesday to Washington to avoid protectionism.

The Commerce Ministry accused Washington of improperly calculating the market value of the Chinese pipes when it announced Tuesday it would impose duties ranging from 10.36 percent to 15.78 percent. The U.S. Commerce Department said it was acting to counter improper loans, tax breaks and other subsidies to Chinese producers.

"The Chinese side expresses strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition," ministry spokesman Yao Jian said in a written statement.

"The American side should strictly abide by the G-20 summit's promises and the joint statement by the leaders of the two countries not long ago, oppose protectionism and avoid abusively using trade relief measures," Yao said.

The statement gave no indication whether Beijing might appeal to the World Trade Organization or take other steps.

Washington and Beijing are involved in a series of market-access disputes over tires, movies and other goods. They have confined the conflicts to diplomatic channels, apparently trying to avoid damaging cooperation in other areas such as North Korea, climate and combatting the global financial crisis.

The U.S. duties imposed on Chinese pipes were lower than the 99 percent level proposed earlier by American trade officials.

Still, the Chinese statement complained that U.S. investigators improperly rejected price data provided by the Chinese government and producers.

This month, Beijing launched an antidumping probe of imported U.S. autos that could lead to higher tariffs. It said it was acting on a complaint by Chinese automakers but gave no details of the alleged American misconduct.