News: BSL UPDATE 1-U.S. trade panel affirms hot-rolled steel duties on seven countries

(Adds details on duties for selected countries and producers)

The U.S. International Trade Commission handed another victory to American steelmakers on Monday, affirming most of the recent anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on hot-rolled flat steel imports from Australia, Brazil, Britain, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea and Turkey.

The commission rejected anti-subsidy duties of about 6 percent against hot-rolled steel from Turkey, but affirmed anti-dumping duties of about 6 to 7 percent against Turkish-made hot-rolled steel.

The vote locks in import taxes on the affected products for five years. The duties are among a series of U.S. actions aimed at fighting a glut of steel imports as China's economy slows and demand remains weak elsewhere.

Earlier on Monday, the U.S. Commerce Department levied anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties of about 64 percent to nearly 77 percent on certain Chinese-made stainless steel sheet and strip products

The ITC vote affirmed final anti-subsidy duties of 3.9 to 11.3 percent against most steelmakers in Brazil and South Korea, but top Korean steelmaker POSCO 005490.KS and Daewoo International Corp face anti-subsidy duties of about 57 percent.

The highest anti-dumping taxes of 34.3 percent were imposed against Brazil's Usiminas USIM5.SA , with all other Brazilian producers facing 33.1 percent margins and just over 11 percent anti-subsidy duties.

The Brazilian government has threatened to challenge U.S. duties before the World Trade Organization in a separate case involving cold-rolled steel imports.

Britain's Tata Steel UK TISC.NS will pay U.S. anti-dumping duties to of about 33 percent, while Tata Steel's Netherlands operations faces final dumping duties of 3.73 percent.

Used in automotive applications, construction, tubing and heavy machinery, hot-rolled steel imports from the seven countries more than doubled to nearly $2 billion last year, with the largest share, about $650 million, coming from South Korea.