The US International Trade Commission on Friday gave final approval to anti-dumping duties of up to 198 percent on Chinese wooden bedroom furniture imports worth about US$1 billion.

The commission voted that the imports were a threat to US domestic producers, which clears the way for the US Commerce Department to issue an anti-dumping order on them.

China has complained the duties violate World Trade Organization rules. The case is the largest US anti-dumping action yet against China.

The decision may not have a big impact on the industry, as manufacturers make efforts to tap new foreign markets, but domestic market competition is expected to increase.

"This decision is unfair to Chinese enterprises because the furniture industry is a competition-based one in China," said an official with the Ministry of Commerce. "China's furniture industry has been completely market-oriented and these companies completely follow market rules."

Some 90 percent of these companies are private, shareholding and foreign-funded, the unnamed official told China Daily.

The US Department of Commerce ruled in November on the anti-dumping duties, which fall into several classifications.

The highest duty of 198 percent was put on one major manufacturer and tens of thousands of smaller companies that account for a tiny minority of China's shipments to the US.

For another 115 companies, accounting for roughly 65 percent of imports, the rate will be 8.64 percent. A further five companies will face tariffs ranging from 2.22 percent to 16.7 percent.

Jia Qingwen, chair of the China National Furniture Association, said it is wrong for the US to deny the Chinese industry status as a market-oriented industry (MOI).

Since it does not, the US uses the cost of production in a surrogate country, where material and labor costs are much higher than in China, to calculate the normal value of Chinese imports.

(China Daily December 13, 2004)