WASHINGTON - The US International Trade Commission (ITC) on Friday approved anti-dumping and countervailing investigations on imports of 53-foot domestic dry containers from China, paving the way for the Department of Commerce to set preliminary duties in the months ahead.

The trade panel voted in the affirmative that there was a reasonable indication that a US industry was materially injured by imports of these products, the ITC said in a statement.

The US Department of Commerce will continue the investigations, launched on May 14, on imports of these products and is expected to make its preliminary countervailing duty determination in July and its anti-dumping duty determination in September.

The investigations are in response to a request from Stoughton Trailers based in the state of Wisconsin. The company alleged that the products from China were sold below the fair value of the products in the US market with dumping margin of 84.07 percent, and Chinese producers and exporters also received improper government subsidies.

Imports of these products from China were estimated at about $184 million last year, according to US official data.

Fifty-three-foot domestic dry containers are closed van containers generally measuring 53 feet in length, which are designed to transport dry goods primarily by rail or by road vehicles, or by a combination of both modes.

As the US economy is undergoing a slow recovery, Washington has increasingly resorted to protectionist practices. The latest move was the third time in a week that US imposed trade protectionist measures against Chinese products.

Beijing has repeatedly urged Washington to honor its commitment against protectionism and work with China to maintain a free, open and just trade environment.