EU asks WTO panel to rule on China's steel duties

BEIJING (AP) — The European Union has asked the World Trade Organization to rule in a dispute over Chinese anti-dumping duties imposed on steel pipes imported from EU countries.

The EU said in a news release that it made the request to the WTO on Friday after unsuccessful consultations to resolve the dispute in July.

EU Trade spokesman John Clancy said that the duties imposed by China on EU's high-performance stainless steel seamless tubes do not comply with WTO rules.

China and EU have been embroiled in a series of trade tiffs. A dispute over China's solar panels fizzled in July after Chinese companies agreed to set minimum prices.

Beijing imposed anti-dumping duties ranging from 9.2 percent to 14.4 percent on the high-performance steel pipes imported from EU countries and Japan in 2012.