US not to levy punitive duties on Chinese refrigeration products

WASHINGTON - The US trade authority ruled Wednesday against imposing punitive duties on Chinese refrigeration products, as it believed that "a US industry is not materially injured or threatened with material injury" by imports of the products.

United States International Trade Commission (USITC) voted against the US Commerce Department's determination that imports of the Chinese refrigeration products, whose technical name is 1, 1, 1, 2- Tetrafluoroethane, were subsidized and sold in the United States at less than fair value.

As a result of the USITC's negative determinations, "no antidumping or countervailing duty orders will be issued on imports of this product from China," the bipartisan trade panel said in a statement.

The US Commerce Department launched the anti-dumping and countervailing duties probes into the Chinese refrigeration products last year requested by Mexichem Fluor Inc, a refrigerant producer based in the US state of Louisiana.

Imports of these products from China were estimated at $34.7 million in 2013, according to US official data.

Beijing has repeatedly urged Washington to honor its commitment against protectionism and work with China to maintain a free, open and just trade environment.

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