BEIJING—The Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China officially is protesting the affirmative preliminary determination of dumping against Chinese truck and bus imports by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
“Chinese tire companies strongly oppose the U.S.'s abuse of trade measures,” MOFCOM spokesperson Shen Danyang said at a press briefing Sept. 2, according to news reports.
Xinhua, China's official news agency, had already expressed the Chinese government's displeasure at the Commerce Department decision in an Aug. 30 article.
“China's Ministry of Commerce has repeatedly urged the United States to abide by its commitment against protectionism and work with China and other members of the international community to maintain a free, open and just international trade environment,” the Xinhua article said.
As of Sept. 2, there was no statement about the Commerce decision on the MOFCOM website.
The Aug. 29 Commerce decision levied preliminary antidumping duties against Chinese truck and bus imports ranging from 20.87 to 22.57 percent. These were on top of the preliminary countervailing duties of 17.06 to 23.38 percent.
Commerce has directed U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits equal to both sets of duties, retroactive 90 days from publication of the duty orders in the Federal Register. As of Sept. 2, the antidumping duty decision had not yet been published.