Chinese Aluminum Goods to Face Higher U.S. Tariffs After Subsidies Ruling

Chinese exporters of aluminum products used in window and door frames will face higher U.S. tariffs after the Commerce Department ruled that they receive unfair government subsidies.

In a preliminary decision released today, the department said the additional tariff would be as much as 138 percent in a case brought by the United Steelworkers union and closely held aluminum manufacturers in nine U.S. states. Imports of the Chinese products were valued at $514 million in 2009.

The decision is the second of four that U.S. manufacturers must win before duties may be imposed. Importers of the Chinese products must now begin depositing the amount imposed today at the border in anticipation of a final ruling.

China supplanted Germany as the world’s biggest exporter last year. The U.S. trade deficit with China is increasing in 2010, after falling last year during the recession.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Drajem in Washington at mdrajem@bloomberg.net.

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