US accused of dumping cars

China yesterday accused car makers in the United States of dumping sedans and cross-country vehicles with engine capacity of 2.5 liters and above in the Chinese market, and the US government had subsidized the exports.

But China will not immediately impose anti-dumping tariff and countervailing duties on the US cars, the Ministry of Commerce said.

But the ministry said in its final ruling issued yesterday that the dumping and subsidies have caused damage to China's auto industry.

Car makers in the US, including General Motors, Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Honda, are accused of dumping their autos with dumping margins ranging from 2 percent to 21.5 percent.

GM's dumping margi is 8.9 percent, and Chrysler's is 8.8 percent.

The ministry's ruling also said the subsidy rates for cars imported from the US market ranged from 6.2 percent to 12.9 percent.

"The ruling won't have a huge impact on the overall performance of US car makers in China as auto imports still account for a small part of their sales in China," Zhong Shi, an independent auto analyst, said.

Last year, China imported about 80,100 vehicles from the US, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. The US was the fourth largest country for auto exports to China.

GM, which sell imported Cadillac CTS coupe, SRX crossover, Escalade sport utility vehicle and Buick Enclave SUV in China, said auto imports account for less than 0.5 percent of its Chinese production.

Chrysler sells imported PT Cruiser and Jeep models in China.

China launched the probe into auto imports from the US on November 6, 2009, on models with engine capacity of 2.0 liters or above. Later it also covered models with engines of 2.5 liters or higher. A preliminary ruling was issued in early April.

Under Chinese law, parties can apply for an administrative review or file a lawsuit if they disagreed with the final ruling.