The US International Trade Commission (ITC) on June 7, 2013 approved anti-dumping investigations on prestressed concrete steel rail tie wire from China, Mexico and Thailand, paving the way for the Department of Commerce to set preliminary duties in September.

All six commissioners of the trade panel voted in the affirmative that there was a reasonable indication that a US industry was materially injured by imports of these products, the ITC said in a statement.

The US Department of Commerce will continue the investigations, launched on May 14, on imports of these products and is expected to make its preliminary anti-dumping duty determinations in September.

The investigations are in response to the petition filed by the Insteel Wire Products Company based in North Carolina and Davis Wire Corporation based in Washington.

The two companies claimed the steel wire imported from China, Mexico and Thailand were sold in the US market with dumping margins of 67.43 percent, 159.44 percent and 53.72 percent, respectively.

The United States imported in 2012 an estimated 35.57 million US dollars of the steel wire from China, 14.69 million from Mexico and 373,000 from Thailand, according to US official data.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry has repeatedly urged the United States to abide by its commitment against trade protectionism and work together with China and other members of the international community to maintain a free, open and just international trade environment.