China Hit With Tariffs From U.S. After Tianjin Pipe Gets Subsidized Loans

[pampango]

Source: Bloomberg

The U.S. International Trade Commission in October upheld tariffs of 63 percent and higher on steel products from Tianjin and other producers, finding that U.S. steelmakers are harmed by subsidies the Chinese companies receive and by unfair pricing.

“While we say, ‘Let the markets work,’ China is building up these national champions,” says Alan Price, a Washington lawyer who has represented U.S.-based steelmakers in trade cases. This battle over the government’s backing for its exporters marks a further deterioration in Chinese-American relations, already strained by charges and countercharges of currency manipulation.

Trade complaints against China have surged since Barack Obama became president -- as have retaliatory steps by China. The U.S. has slapped duties on Chinese-made tires, glossy paper and aluminum products. China has put tariffs on poultry and specialized steel.

In the case of Tianjin Pipe, whose exports to the U.S. have plunged since the tariffs were imposed, China may have a workaround. The company is set to begin construction next year on a $1 billion steel pipe plant in south Texas, near Corpus Christi, that is designed to produce 500,000 metric tons of pipe from recycled steel scrap each year. The plant will create 300 jobs in the first year it operates and lead to a total of 600 jobs, says Josephine Miller, executive director of the San Patricio County Economic Development Corp. The company says the factory will have an annual payroll of $18 million.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-08/china-hit-with-tariffs-from-u-s-after-tianjin-pipe-gets-subsidized-loans.html

[madrchsod]

1. little to late for steel plant i used to work for..

fucking chinese under bid our cost per ton. we had the largest steel casting melt shop in the usa.

texas-non union state and they will pay around 10 to start and 15 tops.