U.S. Producers Being Hurt By Chinese Aluminum Imports, ITC Says

WASHINGTON, May 17 -- U.S. makers of aluminum products used in window and door frames are being harmed by low-cost imports from China, the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled.

The commission voted 6-0 in a preliminary decision today on a case filed by labor unions and privately held manufacturers in nine U.S. states. Imports of such aluminum extrusions were valued at $514 million in 2009.

The decision today is the first of four that the U.S. makers must win before getting dumping duties or anti-subsidy tariffs on competing imports. A final decision in the case is scheduled for January.

China supplanted Germany as the world's biggest exporter last year, and the U.S. trade deficit with China is increasing in 2010, after falling last year during the recession.

Aluminum exports by China in the first quarter are about double those in the same period in 2009, according to customs data. The shipments are 28 percent below the first three months of 2008.