BEIJING (Reuters) -- China said today it would impose anti-subsidy and anti-dumping duties on imported cars made in the United States, the latest in a series of trade spats between the world's two largest economies.
The duties, to affect the Detroit 3 and some U.S. units of foreign automakers, will begin tomorrow and last two years, the Commerce Ministry said on its Web site. Cars that have engine capacity at or above 2.5 liters will be hit with duties ranging from 2 percent to 21.5 percent.
General Motors Co. will face anti-dumping and countervailing duties ranging from 8.9 percent to 12.9 percent. Chrysler Group's will range from 6.2 percent to 8.8 percent, while the U.S. units of BMW AG and Mercedes-Benz will face duties of 2 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively.
The United States is "very disappointed" with China's decision to impose punitive duties on U.S. auto imports to offset alleged unfair trade practices, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative's office said today.
"The United States has previously indicated that China's... investigations of imports of automobiles from the United States appeared to have significant problems," said spokeswoman Carol Guthrie.