The US Commerce Department on Thursday placed preliminary antidumping duties on steel cylinders imports from China, on the grounds that those products were sold at prices?below fair market value.

The antidumping duties on high-pressure steel cylinders from China will range from 5.08 to 26.23 percent, according to the preliminary decision of US Commerce Department.

US manufacturer Norris Cylinder Company, the only remaining producer of high-pressure steel cylinders in the nation,?appealed earlier this year for antidumping duties of up to 176.25 percent and additional countervailing duties on these products from China.

US imports of steel cylinders were valued at an estimated 48. 8 million U.S. dollars in 2010, up from 29.1 million dollars in the previous year, according to the statistics released by the Commerce Department.

The US move came at a time when protectionism is raising its ugly rear amid sluggish economic recovery. It was widely believed that such actions would only hurt U.S.- China trade relations that are increasingly critical to global recovery.