WASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department said on Tuesday it had set preliminary duties of up to 27.01 percent on multilayered wood flooring from China to offset alleged government subsidies.

The decision is a victory for U.S. manufacturers Anderson Hardwood Floors, Award Hardwood Floors and Shaw Industries Group, who make easy-to-assemble wood floor planks like those sold at U.S. retailers Home Depot (HD.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Lowe's (LOW.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).
The companies filed a petition last year asking for countervailing duties to offset Chinese government subsidies.

The 27.01 percent duty applies to 127 Chinese producers or exporters.
However, the Commerce Department said it would not levy any countervailing duty against three Chinese companies named in the case -- Zhejiang Layo Wood Industry Co Ltd, Jiaxing Brilliant Import & Export Co Ltd and Zhejiang Yuhua Timber Co -- because it found no evidence they had benefited from government subsidies. A duty of only 2.25 percent was imposed on three other companies.

U.S. manufacturers also have asked for antidumping duties of up to 281 percent to offset what they said was unfairly low pricing by their Chinese competitors. The Commerce Department has not yet made a decision in that portion of the case.
Imports of multilayered wood flooring from China fell to $119.7 million in 2009 from $148 million in 2008.

U.S. manufacturers said the U.S. recession was the cause of the decline and argued China was positioned to grab a bigger share of the market as the U.S. economy recovered.