WASHINGTON - The US government announced on Thursday that it was launching anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations on stainless steel sinks from China.

The merchandise covered by the investigations are stainless steel sinks with single or multiple drawn bowls, with or without drain boards, whether finished or unfinished, regardless of type of finish, gauge, or grade of stainless steel, said the US Commerce Department in a statement.

The department alleged China had dumping margin ranging from 22. 81 percent to 76.53 percent and the estimated subsidy rate was above 2 percent.

In 2011, the United States imported drawn stainless steel sinks from China at an estimated 118 million dollars.

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) was scheduled to make its preliminary injury determination on or before April 16, 2012.

If the ITC determines that there is a reasonable indication that imports from China are materially injuring, or threatening material injury to, the domestic industry, the investigation will continue, and the Commerce Department will be scheduled to make its countervailing and anti-dumping preliminary determinations in May and August 2012, respectively.

The petitioner for the investigations is Elkay Manufacturing Company based in Illinois.

Thursday's announcement added another trade protectionist move in the already enforcement-intensive week, given the Commerce's four affirmative verdicts on punitive duties and the ITC's decision to maintain a tariff that has been in place for over 20 years.

"It is likely to see more trade cases in the election year. China should be equipped with more in-house professional legal personnel to enhance its capability to deal with trade disputes," Yukon Huang, a senior associate in the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Xinhua.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry has called on the United States to work with China and other members of the international community to maintain a free, open and just international trade environment.

Unilateral moves, such as the proposed tariffs, will not bring down the stubbornly high US unemployment, but instead will make the situation more complicated, the ministry said.