04/01/2008, the U.S. Commerce Department set preliminary anti-dumping duties ranging up to 51.34 percent on certain steel pipe from China that it said was being sold in the United States at below-market prices.
"Price discrimination hurts American manufacturers," David Spooner, assistant commerce secretary for import administration, said in a statement.

"The Administration is committed to aggressively enforcing America's trade remedy laws in order to achieve strong and fair relationships with our trading partners," Spooner said.

The Commerce Department has slapped duties on a number of Chinese goods in recent months that it said were either subsidized or being sold in the United States at less than fair value.

The latest action involves circular welded carbon quality steel pipe used in plumbing and heating systems, air- conditioning units and automatic sprinkler systems, the department said.

The United Steelworkers union joined a half-dozen pipe manufacturers in Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, Pennsylvania, California and New Jersey in requesting the duties.

Imports of product increased by 143 percent from 2004 to 2006, and were valued at an estimated $332 million in 2006, the Commerce Department said.

A number of individual Chinese manufacturers will face a preliminary anti-dumping duty of 25.67 percent. Others will face a China-wide rate of 51.34 percent. U.S. Customs will be instructed to collect a cash deposit or bond based on those rates.

The Commerce Department will announce a final decision on anti-dumping duties in May.

The U.S. International Trade Commission must make a final determination that U.S. producers are harmed by the imports for the duties to formally take effect.

That vote is scheduled to take place by early July. (Editing by Peter Cooney)