The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) determined Tuesday that imports of seamless refined copper pipe and tube from China and Mexico threatened the U.S. industry with "material injury."

The USITC made this final determination prior to its previous agenda, as it was set to do so next month.

As a result of the USITC's affirmative threat determinations, the U.S. Commerce Department will issue antidumping duty (AD) orders on imports of these products from China and Mexico.

The U.S. Commerce Department announced on Sept. 28 that it had made a final determination to slap antidumping duties on imported seamless refined copper pipe and tube from China and Mexico. In this case, Chinese and Mexican producers and exporters will face 11.25 to 60.85 percent, and 24.89 to 31.43 percent of AD duties, respectively.

According to the U.S. government data, imports of seamless refined copper pipe and tube from China and Mexico were valued respectively at about 233 million and 130.3 million U.S. dollars in 2009.

With the U.S. economy recovering at a sluggish pace and the mid-term congressional elections approaching, the protectionist moves by the United States are also on the rise. Experts warned that they would ultimately hurt the U.S.-China trade relations, which are becoming increasingly critical for the global economic recovery.