NORTH AMERICA

UalSu smeitn tuom impose duties onThe US Commerce Department said it will move ahead to impose anti-dumping and subsidy duties on aluminum products imported from China， a move which is likely to hurt Chinese exports to the United States.The department said it had found 29 Chinese companies selling extruded aluminum products， which are used in cars， houses and manufactured goods， to the US market at 33 percent cheaper than fair value.Anti-dumping duties will range from 32.79 percent to 33.28 percent， and countervailing duties on the imports of Chinese-made aluminum extrusions will range between 8.02 percent and 374.15 percent， the US department said in a statement to the media.Chinese exporters are required to deposit the duty owed until a final ruling. The matter still has to be determined by the US International Trade Commission， which is scheduled to meet in May.China exported $503 million of extruded aluminum products to the US in 2010， down from $514 million in 2009.“If anti-dumping duties and anti-subsidy duties together are over 20 percent， there is no profit for aluminum producers. It definitely will affect Chinese companies’ that export to the US，” said an industry insider who declined to be named.“We’ve already stopped the export of products that are included in the scope of dumping and subsidy duties，” he said.The US government imposed countervailing duties ranging from 6.18 percent to 137.65 percent in August 2008 and anti-dumping duties totaling 59.1 percent in October 2010.In 2007， Chinese-made aluminum extrusions only accounted for 8 percent of the US market. That number had jumped to 20 percent by 2009.Wang Baodong， a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington， told Bloomberg News that the move to impose duties is “particularly unwelcome” and “is not conducive to the health of our trading relations”.China Zhongwang Holdings Ltd， Asia’s largest maker of aluminum extrusion products， reported a 26 percent decline in profit in the fiscal year 2010 due to a decline in export sales resulting from the US anti-dumping and countervailing duties investigations.“We expect a proportion of exports to the US to drop further this year and the company will develop other markets to achieve better balanced global distribution，” said Lu Changqing， vice-president of Zhongwang.The company will further explore the market in Canada and Mexico， and tap new markets in European countries， he said.In order to avoid risks from trade friction， Zhongwang will also look to domestic growth to raise its market share to 70 percent from 55 percent during the next two years. (China Daily)China accuses U.S. of auto dumpingChina has accused automakers in the United States of dumping sedans and sports utility vehicles with engines larger than 2.5 liters into the country.The Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on its website on Saturday that such dumping measures and subsidies have caused “substantial harm” to the Chinese industry.However， the ministry said it will not levy temporary anti-dumping taxes or adopt countervailing measures.The statement also said the ministry has given the relevant parties 10 days to submit written comments and evidence， and promises further deliberation based on any new material.The ministry began the anti-dumping investigation in November 2009.Wang Xin， director of the ministry’s department for supervision and inspections， refused to comment on the decision to China Daily， but said the announcement came when the scheduled one and a half year period for investigation is almost due.Five manufacturers， including General Motors， Chrysler and BMW， were listed in the ministry’s statement. Dumping margins range from 2 percent to 21.5 percent， and subsidy rates were up to 12.9 percent.GM China， which had the highest dumping margins and subsidy rates， said it was unaware of the statement， and declined to comment further.Experts said the ministry’s move is in accordance with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules， and the conclusion will cause limited harm to the US automotive industry.Zhou Shijian， a senior researcher on China-US relations at Tsinghua University， said China’s move is a retaliation against import tariffs imposed by the US on Chinese tire makers.In September 2009， US President Barack Obama announced a three-year tariff on Chinese-made tires in response to an appeal from United Steelworkers， which complained that tires imported from China to the US tripled in numbers between 2001 and 2004， accusing China of dumping truck tires.Chinese government said the case， which violated WTO rules， was trade protectionism. The case is estimated to cause at least a $1 billion loss to China’s tire manufacturers.Analysts said the impact of the ministry’s ruling on the US auto industry would be limited.Xu Changming， senior economist for the State Information Center， said sales of US-made vehicles in China are not very strong， but some sport utility vehicles made by BMW’s US factories have big market shares in China.He Weiwen， a standing council member of the China Society for WTO Studies， suggested that China should investigate the industries that the US may dump more products， and be prepared to provide subsidies.The WTO ruled in March that the US had illegally imposed a number of anti-dumping and countervailing tariffs on some made-in-China products， including steel pipes and woven sacks. (China Daily)U.S. 3M company plans new plant in ChinaThe 3M corporation will invest one billion yuan (about 152.8 million U.S. Dollars) to build a plant in Hefei， a city in east China’s Anhui Province， to produce new energy products， including solar photovoltaic materials， authorities said on April 7.The construction of the plant is set to kick off in June 2011 in the high-tech industrial zone of the city， and the plant is expected to generate an annual output value of about two billion yuan upon its completion at the end of 2015， said Xu Junxiong， 3M head of Greater China.The U.S.-based company， formally known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Corporation， was founded in 1902 and it produces over 50，000 products， such as electronic materials， medical products and car care products.The 3M company built its first subsidiary in China in November 1984 and it now has 12 subsidiaries across the country， plus three technical support centers and one research and development center， employing more than 5，700 people， according to a document posted at the 3M company’s website. (Xinhua)Volvo recalls 82 faulty trucks in ChinaVolvo (China) Investment Co.， Ltd. will recall 82 of its imported trucks on the Chinese mainland starting on Friday due to defects in their steering system， China’s quality watchdog said on April 15.The recall will involve imported FM， FH and FE trucks manufactured between Nov. 29， 2010 and Jan. 21， 2011， the State Administration of Quality Supervision， Inspection and Quarantine said in a statement posted on its website.The affected trucks may have defects in the steering arm bolts， which could crack. If not repaired， the bolts could eventually fail， causing loss of steering control. The recall of the affected vehicles aims to replace the steering arm bolts， according to the statement.Volvo (China) Investment Co.， Ltd.， will examine the truck series and replace the affected bolts to remove the potential hazard， said the statement.Chinese owners of the imported trucks can call Volvo’s hotline at 400-818-8999. Manufacturers will repair the faulty components at no charge， it said. (Xinhua)The Dow Chemical Company and Befar Group Co.， Ltd. announced a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday to produce a key refrigerant chemical in China.The Midland-based Company said in a statement that the new 50- 50 joint venture will produce perchloroethylene， a key building block material for non-ozone depleting refrigerants used in industrial， automotive， consumer， commercial， building and construction， and other applications.According to the MOU， the two companies will explore development of a new， world-scale， perchloroethylene manufacturing facility in Binzhou， Shandong Province， China.The new factory is expected to produce 40 kilotons per year at the initial stage， with the possibility of doubling production to 80 kilotons later.Dow and Befar estimate production would start in 2014， if the deal is subject to government approvals.Dow President of Chemicals Energy， Carol Williams said in the statement that the proposed joint venture with Befar is another critical milestone toward fulfillment of the Company’s business strategy， and it will allow Dow to grow its manufacturing presence in China， and also increase its ability to meet the world’s rapidly expanding need for more sustainable product offerings.According to the statement， the market for perchloroethylene is growing rapidly in China， local supply has been limited so far. The proposed Dow-Befar joint venture is designed to meet this significant market opportunities.(Xinhua)China’s investment in Canada surgesThe Asia/Oceania region’s share of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Canada more than doubled in the past ten years， with China contributing the most， Statistics Canada said on April 15.A newly-released report by the agency showed that over the past 10 years， the share of the Asia/Oceania region of FDI in Canada has grown from 4.5 percent in 2001 to 11.2 percent in 2010. Much of the gain came from China.In 2010， China’s direct investment in Canada reached C$14.1 billion (about $14.69 billion)， up from C$12.9 billion in 2009 and 5.7 billion in 2008. The amount ranks the sixth after the United States， the Netherlands， Britain， Switzerland， France and Japan.At the same time， the US share has declined from 64.6 percent in 2001 to 54.5 percent in 2010.In the year 2010， total FDI in Canada increased by C$14 billion to 561.6 billion， up 2.6 percent year-on-year， while Canada’s direct investment aboard declined from the previous year’s C$621.2 billion to 616.7 billion. (Xinhua)