Beijing Blasts Washington for Plans to Launch High Taxes on Chinese Steel

Beijing is disappointed over the high taxes that the new US administration is planning to impose on the imported Chinese stainless steel products, Head of the Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce Wang Hejun said Saturday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Friday, the US Commerce Department announced its plans to raise import tariffs for the Chinese stainless steel products from 63 percent to 190 percent citing a probe that found they were selling on US market at dumping-level price.

“China is disappointed that the United States continued to launch high taxes on Chinese steel export products and calls into question the unfair way the US conducted its investigation,” Wang said, as quoted by the South China Morning Post newspaper.

The United States did not take into the account the evidence previously submitted by the Chinese steel manufacturers and avoided cooperation with the Chinese government, violating the rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Chinese official underlined.

This is a second blow for the Chinese steel importers in the recent months. The European Commission imposed in January anti-dumping duties on Chinese stainless steel tubes and pipe butt-welding fittings to protect its industry from steel overcapacity.

According the European Commission, Chinese imports will be taxed with duties ranging from 30.7 to 64.9 as its investigation commission confirmed that Chinese stainless steel products had been sold in Europe at dumping prices.

Adoption of measures to protect American industries was one of the President Trumps' campaign pledges. He promised that his administration would provide preferences for companies that locate their production inside the US and hire Americans. In particular, the president said he would impose harsh import taxes on US companies that move production abroad and hire foreigners.

Russian expert Nikita Maslennikov told Sputnik Beijing and Washington oth Beijing and Washington are by no means interested in unleashing an all-out trade war. He believes that US may increase tariffs on Chinese goods, by around 5 percent.

On January 23, the US president signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade treaty, and promised to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).