U.S. OKs final duties on China steel line pipe

WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. government gave final approval on Thursday to anti-dumping duties ranging from 74 to 101 percent on welded steel line pipe from China that it said was being sold at unfairly low prices.

The U.S. International Trade Commission voted 6-0 that U.S. producers were either being materially injured or threatened with material injury by the low-priced imports.

That cleared the way for the Commerce Department to issue an anti-dumping order against the imports.

The case was brought last year by the United Steelworkers union, the United States Steel Corp (X.N) and two Texas steel pipe companies, Tenaris SA (TS.N) unit Maverick Tube Corp and Tex-Tube Co. Welded steel line pipe is generally used in pipeline systems to transport oil or gas.

Commerce has set a 73.87 percent anti-dumping duty on Huludao Steel Pipe Industrial Co., Huludao City Steel Pipe Industrial Co., Pangang Group Beihai Steel Pipe Corp., Jiangsu Yulong Steel Pipe Co., Tianjin Xingyuda Import and Export Co. and Tianjin Lifengyuanda Steel Pipe Group Co.

Other Chinese producers and exporters face a China-wide duty of 101.10 percent, Commerce said last month.

U.S. imports of the China product peaked at $256 million at 2007 and fell by more than 50 percent last year after the U.S. industry won preliminary relief. (Editing by Eric Walsh)