The US Commerce Department on Tuesday approved preliminary anti-dumping duties of up to nearly 123 percent on more than US$175 million worth of plastic shopping bags from China, Malaysia and Thailand.

The decision is the latest in a series of Bush administration actions aimed at imports from China. In recent months, the Commerce Department has cleared the way for duties on color television receivers and wooden furniture from China.

Commerce set preliminary anti-dumping duties ranging from less than 1.0 percent to nearly 123 percent on the plastic bags, used by food and clothing retailers.

China is the biggest of the three suppliers, shipping nearly 29.2 billion units of plastic bags valued at US$147 million to the United States in 2002.

The department approved a China-wide rate of 80.52 percent, but set duties ranging from 0.12 percent to 57.09 percent on a long list of manufacturers it identified by name.

It set duties of 101.74 percent on six Malaysian suppliers and 84.81 percent on most others. It set a duty of just 0.14 percent on one Malaysian supplier. Duties on Thai bag suppliers ranged from 2.84 percent to 122.88 percent.

Commerce is expected to issue final anti-dumping duties in early June. In the meantime, importers are required to deposit cash equal to the value to the preliminary duties.

The three countries could escape final anti-dumping duties if the US International Trade Commission determines US producers have not been materially harmed by the imports. A vote on that issue is expected in August.

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