The U.S. Commerce Department said on Monday that it has made affirmative final determinations in the antidumping duties (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations on imports of prestressed concrete steel wire strand (PC Strand) from China.

The department said in a statement that in the AD case, it "determined that Chinese producers/exporters have sold PC Strand in the United States at 42.97-193.55 percent."

In the CVD case, the department determined that Chinese producers/exporters of PC Strand have received net countervailable subsidies ranging from 8.85-45.85 percent.

As a result of this preliminary determination, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect a cash deposit or bond based on these preliminary rates.

In 2009, imports of PC Strand from China were valued at an estimated 13 million dollars, according to the Commerce Department.

The department said that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is currently scheduled to make its final determination on or before June 28, 2010.

If the ITC makes an affirmative final determination that imports of PC Strand from China materially injure, or threaten material injury to the domestic industry, Commerce will issue AD and CVD duty order.

The protectionist moves by the Obama administration will ultimately hurt the U.S.-China trade relations, which are becoming more and more important due to the global financial crisis, economists warned.

The onset of the global recession appears to have set off an increase in trade disputes around the world. And China has become one of the main targets of the rising protectionism.