A U.S. Steel Tariff Heats Up the Trade War With China

The U.S. International Trade Commission's decision favoring domestic steelmakers over Chinese exporters escalated a trade war that will likely extend into 2010. The ITC ruling upholds preliminary action that the Commerce Department took to impose compensatory trade penalties of 10.4% to 15.8% on Chinese-made steel tube exports, which totaled $2.7 billion in 2008. This action is similar to penalties the European Union's 27 member states imposed on China last July.