US imposes duties on Chinese wind towers

The US on Tuesday imposed steep anti-dumping duties on wind turbine towers made in China, Reuters reported. The US Commerce Department set final duties at 44.99-70.63% on utility-scale towers manufactured in China that it considers to be priced unfairly low, after setting preliminary rates earlier in the year. Additional countervailing duties of 21.86-34.81% were set on the same products to counteract subsidies provided by the Chinese government. The department also imposed duties of 51.40-58.49% on wind towers made in Vietnam. The duties are subject to the approval of a US trade panel, which will vote on the rates at the end of January. The announcement came as Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan leads a trade delegation to Washington, DC, for a meeting of the US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade.