Osamu Watanabe, vice minister for international trade and industry, urged Washington Thursday to act prudently in judging U.S. steelmakers' dumping charges against cold-rolled steel imports from Japan and 11 other economies.
Commenting on dumping charges the U.S. steel industry filed Wednesday with the U.S. Commerce Department, Watanabe said the action of filing charges on one product after another may provoke similar moves in other sectors and lead to protectionism.
Watanabe urged the Washington to carefully examine import trends and actual damages to ensure fair judgment.