The Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on Saturday that it was strongly unsatisfied with and firmly opposed to a recent United States preliminary ruling on the anti-subsidy probe into tyres for non-road use imported from China.

 

The US Department of Commerce ruled on Dec. 10 that the Chinese government offered several subsidies to the tyre producers involved in the investigation and said it would take temporary anti-subsidy measures.

 

The probe infringes US tradition of not adopting anti-subsidy measures against non-market economies, which has been practiced since 1984, the MOC said in a statement.

 

The frequent requests for anti-subsidy probes into Chinese exports made by US industries are unconducive to the normal development of the bilateral trade relations, the statement said.

 

The US Department of Commerce made false calculation of the subsidies after refusing to take into account the credible data provided by the Chinese side, according to the statement.

 

The unjust ruling not only violates the US basic laws and multilateral rules, but shows US discrimination against Chinese companies and its bias on Chinese mode of economic development, it said.

 

This will give a rise to trade protectionism in the US and damage the interests of Chinese industry, which is unacceptable to the Chinese government and industry circle, the statement noted.

 

China will reserve the right to take further action to protect the interests of its domestic companies, the MOC added.

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 29, 2007)