China issues initial ruling on US auto dumping case

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Saturday issued a preliminary ruling saying the United States had dumped sedans and cross-country vehicles with engine displacements of 2.5 liters and above on the Chinese market, and that the US government had subsidized the exports.

The dumping and subsidies have caused substantial damage to the Chinese domestic industry, a statement on the ministry's website said.

The preliminary ruling said the dumping margins by the American companies ranged from 2 percent to 21.5 percent.

The statement also listed the dumping margins for US companies, such as 9.9 percent with General Motors LLC and 8.8 percent with Chrysler Group LLC.

The ruling said subsidy rates for cars imported from the US ranged from 6.2 percent to 12.9 percent.

The MOC statement said China would not slap temporary anti-dumping and countervailing measures on the imports as a result of the ruling, but involved parties could file written statements and evidence to the MOC within 10 days after the date when the ruling was announced.

China launched the dual probes into auto imports from the US on November 6, 2009 at the request of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

CAAM, which represents Chinese car-makers, filed an application for the investigations and said US car makers had unfairly benefited from government subsidy programs.