The United States had employed the depression-era Tariff Act of 1930 for the first time in a quarter century to launch an investigation of Chinese government subsidies to promote exports of aluminium sheet, the US Department of Commerce announced in a press release.
Anti-dumping and countervailing are generally initiated in response to petitions filed by a domestic industry alleging harm from imports due to unfair trade practices, the release explained.
By contrast, self-initiation authority can be exercised whenever the Commerce Secretary determines, from information available, that a formal investigation is warranted.
The investigation targets "common alloy aluminum sheet," which consists of multiple grades, according to industry websites. Uses range from airplanes, where high strength-to-weight ratios and resistance to fatigue is needed, to household items such as frying pans.
The Commerce Department last self-initiated a countervailing duty investigation in 1991 on softwood lumber from Canada, the release noted. The last self-initiated anti-dumping duty investigation occurred in 1985 on semiconductors from Japan. - Sputnik -