BEIJING (Reuters) - China's commerce ministry urged the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to reject a call from U.S. Steel Corp (N:X) to investigate dozens of Chinese steel producers and their distributors over alleged violations.
In a complaint to the ITC on Tuesday, the U.S. steelmaker called on regulators to investigate dozens of Chinese firms for allegedly conspiring to fix prices, stealing trade secrets and circumventing trade duties by false labelling.
The petition, known as Section 337 and used to protect against intellectual property theft, listed some of China's top producers, including Hebei Iron & Steel Group <000709.SZ> and Anshan Iron and Steel Group and Shandong Iron & Steel Group Co [SDONGG.UL].
The Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday that there was "no factual basis" for intellectual property disputes over China's steel product exports to the U.S. It said that the two countries should work together to address overcapacity issues in the steel sector.
