Eight US steel plate manufacturing companies have formed a group and complained that steel plates are being dumped at less than fair price by these countries. The Czech Republic, France, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Macedonia and South Korea are the other seven nations to be listed in the complaint.

The complaint was filed with the commerce department and US International Trade Commission (ITC) by the domestic steel makers, ITC spokesperson Pet O'Laughlin told PTI. The cut-to-length steel plates are used for machinery and equipment besides bridge construction.

The aggrieved manufacturers said the plates were being sold by as much as 119 per cent below fair value and these eight nations account for over 60 per cent of imports in the US. Anti-dumping investigations are initiated as per World Trade Organisation (WTO) normsif there is evidence that importers are selling at a price below the rates prevailing at the originating point.