CHINA’S steel industry will resolutely respond to any trade action taken by the United States, the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) said late Tuesday as it hailed a climbdown by Washington in an antitrust case.

The CISA statement came after the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) decided to terminate its investigation into imports of certain carbon and alloy steel products for alleged violation of antitrust laws, also known as Section 337.

In 2016, the USITC launched a probe into imports of certain carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plates from 12 countries, including China and South Korea, after receiving complaints from United States Steel Corp. of Pittsburgh (U.S. Steel).

In a statement dated March 19, the USITC said it found U.S. Steel had failed to plead or demonstrate antitrust injury.

The termination of the case marks a small victory for the Chinese metals industry, which is facing trade action from the United States on a number of fronts.

“The United States has been continuously creating trade friction with China in the steel sector for many years. ... China’s steel industry will resolutely respond to the challenges triggered by the United States and make the Chinese steel industry bigger and stronger,” said the CISA statement.

Earlier this month, the CISA urged the government to retaliate after U.S. President Donald Trump decided to impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminium imports effective Friday.

China will actively take measures to safeguard China’s and its industries’ interests, vice commerce minister said in response to the United States’ trade investigations.

The U.S decision to launch trade investigations is a unilateral act of trade protectionism, Vice Minister Wang Shouwen said in New Delhi, according to a statement released yesterday.

The adoption of trade restrictive measures will not only impede normal international trade order but also cause serious damage to multilateral trade, Wang added.(SD-Agencies)