U.S. Commerce Dept raises import duties on some Chinese aluminium extrusions

The U.S. Commerce Department is ratcheting up pressure on some imports of aluminium extrusions, with a significant hike in the discounted duty rate for several Chinese companies.

A document posted on the Commerce Department's website late on Tuesday showed the government has agreed to increase discounted countervailing duties on aluminium extrusion imports from 38 Chinese companies to 61.35 percent from 9.67 percent for several of them.

The countervailing duty rate for Chinese extruders not qualifying for the discounted amount is 158.96 percent. The increase comes after Commerce raised anti-dumping duties on several Chinese extruders last week, in a victory for their U.S. competitors.

Extrusion is the process of shaping aluminium, by forcing it to flow through an opening in a die used to produce shapes. Extrusions are used in products ranging from car parts to window panes.

Jeff Henderson, director of operations at the U.S. Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC), hailed the decision as "a much bigger win for us than we had hoped."

Last week, the International Trade Administration (ITA), a unit of the Commerce Department, raised anti-dumping duties on imports from 10 Chinese extruders to 86.01 percent, before being adjusted for liquidation and cash deposit purposes. The duty for other Chinese companies is 33.28 percent.

Anti-dumping duties are meant to counteract the price advantage gained from selling goods below market rate, and countervailing duties are meant to offset the benefits of government subsidies.

U.S. extruders say their Chinese competitors receive state subsidies and sell their goods in the United States below market value, and successfully petitioned for import duties to be implemented in 2011. Since then, imports of Chinese aluminium extrusions have tailed off substantially.

But in October, the AEC asked the ITA to investigate allegations that China's Zhongwang, the world's second largest producer of aluminium extrusions, was evading U.S. import duties. Earlier this week, the ITA pushed back the deadline for a decision on whether it would investigate to Jan. 21.

Ballooning Chinese aluminium exports have heightened tensions in the industry and raised the specter of a trade dispute, with Century Aluminum and the United Steelworkers Union supporting an aggressive campaign against China's exports.