China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC) has issued a statement in response to the preliminary decision of the United States Department of Commerce (US DOC) to impose a countervailing
duty (CVD) rate of 210.5 percent on imports of carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plate from China.
The MOC stated that the US attributed this high rate of CVD on carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plate to China for not fully cooperating with the investigation, while it actually deprived China’s steel enterprises of defense opportunity by requiring them providing irrelevant information. The MOC said that the G20 leaders just reached a consensus for not resorting to new trade protection measures by the end of 2018 at the recently concluded G20 Summit in Hangzhou, while US decision against China’s steel products ran counter to G20’s wishes and would weaken each other's competitiveness in the global market. The MOC urged that the US should adhere closely to the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and avoid implementing unreasonable measures. To resolve problems, all countries should strengthen communication and cooperation instead of resorting to frequent trade protection measures, the MOC stressed.