US President George W. Bush on Friday rejected a request to
place quotas on steel pipe imported from China.
"Imposing import relief would cost US consumers substantially
more than the increased income that could be realized by domestic
producers," Bush said in a statement released at his Texas ranch
where he is staying for holiday.
US pipemakers and a labor group had asked the Bush
administration to impose the quotas on certain kinds of steel pipe
imported from China and used primarily in construction.
On this August, the United States launched a probe to see if
safeguard measures were warranted against two classes of China-made
circular welded non-alloy steel pipes, or standard pipes.
More than 50 enterprises in China are involved in the
investigation, including 20 with an annual export volume of over
US$1 million.
In 2004, China exported standard pipes valued some US$110
million to the United States, up 657.5 percent over the previous
year.
The figure hit US$87.5 million in the first half of this year,
reflecting a 234.6 percent increase.
(Xinhua News Agency December 31, 2005)