BRUSSELS -(Dow Jones)- Trade experts from the 27 European Union governments Monday supported a range of duties that the E.U. has proposed to place on goods from China and the U.S., E.U. officials said.

China was the main target. E.U. manufacturers complain that the Chinese government subsidizes its industries, allowing them to dump products on to the European market, forcing down their price.

The experts supported a plan by the European Commission, the E.U.'s executive arm, to put temporary duties ranging from 15.6% to 24% on Chinese steel and iron pipes. The commission will decide in the next six months whether to impose permanent duties.

The experts approved a commission proposal to put multiyear duties on steel wire from China. The producers will face a duty of 50.6% - except for Kiswire Qingdao, which will face no duties. These duties must be approved by E.U. government ministers at the European Council.

The experts voiced support for a plan to put duties on sodium metal made by U.S. chemical company E.I. DuPont Nemours & Co. (DD), though some needed a few more days to evaluate the plan. If the plan is approved, as expected, DuPont will face a 32% duty when shipping sodium metal to the E.U.

The duties are intended to offset cheap electricity that DuPont's sodium metal plant receives from New York State, which the commission claims is an unfair subsidy.

The E.U. in 2008 launched six antidumping investigations against China, and it imposed antidumping duties seven times against Chinese producers, according to a commission official. The U.S., by contrast, has imposed duties 18 times in 2008 against China, the official said.

-By Matthew Dalton, Dow Jones Newswires; +32 2 741 1487; matthew.dalton@ dowjones.com

         (END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-23-09 1401ET

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March 23, 2009: 02:01 PM ET

Source: money.cnn.com