Two technicanes operate the machine in Taiyuan Iron & Steel (Group) Company (TISCO) in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province, Nov. 15, 2012. Against the backdrop of sluggish steel industry, TISCO, the world's largest stainless steel enterprise, has optimized product structure with technical innovation, and managed to achieve revenue of 105.541 billion yuan (about 16.88 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three quarters of 2012, with a year-on-year growth rate of 11.4%. (Xinhua/File Photo)

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Commerce Department on Monday announced its preliminary affirmative determination in the antidumping duty investigation against imports of stainless steel sheets and strips from China, signaling that it may pose punitive duties on the products.

The department said that such products from China had been sold in the United States at dumping margins of 63.86 percent and 76.64 percent.

As a result of the preliminary affirmative determinations, the Commerce Department will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to require cash deposits based on these preliminary rates.

The Commerce Department launched antidumping duty and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations against imports of such products from China in March 2016, in response to a request from AK Steel Corporation and three other U.S. steel companies.

The Commerce made its preliminary affirmative determination in the CVD investigation in July, saying that producers and exporters of such products from China had received countervailing subsidies from 57.3 percent to 193.12 percent.

Imports of these products from China were estimated at about 302 million U.S. dollars in 2015, according to U.S. official data.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has kept urging Washington to abide by its commitment against protectionism and help maintain a free, open and just international trade environment.

Punitive duties would be imposed after both the Commerce Department and the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) make affirmative final rulings.

The Commerce is scheduled to make its final determinations in November this year and the USITC is slated to make its final determination in January 2017.