US slaps duties on $2.6 bln China steel pipe

The U.S. Commerce Department said on Wednesday it had imposed preliminary duties ranging from 10.90 percent to 30.69 percent on $2.6 billion of steel pipe from China used to transport oil.

The decision in the case brought by the United Steelworkers union, U.S. Steel, Maverick Tube Corp., and other steel pipe manufacturers comes as President Barack Obama faces a Sept. 17 deadline to decide whether to restrict tire imports from China.

Imports of the oil country tubular goods increased 203 percent in volume from 2006 to 2008, the Commerce Department said.

(Reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Sandra Maler)