(Yicai Global) Oct. 30 -- The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) expressed strong dissatisfaction with the US rules for imports of aluminum foil from China on Oct. 28, saying that the US has ignored World Trade Organization rules.

The US Department of Commerce said in a statement on Friday that it would impose preliminary import duties ranging from 96.81 percent to 162.24 percent on Chinese aluminum foil as the products are being sold at unfairly low prices.

MOFCOM said the move was unjust as the US still uses the analog country method for judging China's industry.

This method was included in section 15 of the accession protocol formulated by the WTO and China when the country joined the organization in 2001. It said that if China could not prove the existence of market conditions in a certain industry, other countries investigating that industry could base their judgment on data from countries at a similar level of development.

It expired on December 11 last year, and all WTO members should abandon the method in anti-dumping probes and rules against China, said Wang Hejun, head of MOFCOM's trade remedy and investigation bureau.

The US has ignored this and declined to comply with its global obligations by continuing to adopt the discriminatory analog country method toward China, Wang said.

The US decision harms the interests of Chinese companies and damages the seriousness and authority of multilateral rules, said Wang, adding that China has urged the US to comply with its global obligations and take practical action to correct this "incorrect practice."

"The Chinese government will adopt necessary measures to safeguard the legal rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and reserve relevant rights under the WTO's dispute settlement mechanism," said Wang.

The US Department of Commerce opened anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations into imports of aluminum foil from China in March.

The US Department of Commerce made a preliminary determination that such products are subsidized, and the subsidy margin is 16.56 percent to 80.97 percent.

The US International Trade Commission had previously made a preliminary determination that the subsidy on aluminum foils imported from China substantially impaired relevant industries of the US on April 21.

The US Department of Commerce and US International Trade Commission plan to make final decision on the matter in February and April of next year, respectively. If both departments ultimately decide such products imported from China cause substantial damage or threats to industry in the US, the commerce department will require customs to collect an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariff on relevant products.

The value of aluminum foil imported from China by the US last year was about USD389 million, US Commerce Department data show.