The World Trade Organization (WTO) said that China violated international trade rules when it imposed anti-dumping tariffs against certain high-grade steel tubes from the European Union and Japan.
The WTO trade dispute body sided with the EU's and Japan's complaints that China had not followed the proper procedures and had acted in an intransparent manner when it introduced the tariffs in 2012 to counter imports that it deemed were below fair market value, the (dpa) news agency reported.
"I hope to see China reacting to this ruling immediately and restoring fair trading conditions for EU producers," EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said.
China imposed duties of around 10 per cent on European-produced steel tubes, after the EU imposed a provisional anti-dumping duty on its imports of certain seamless pipes and stainless steel tubes from China in 2011.
The EU charged that its tube exports to China fell from an annual 90 million euros (102 million dollars) to below 20 million euros as a result.
China last year lost a WTO case against the EU, the United States and Japan centering on rare earths and was forced to scrap export restrictions on these commodities, which are key components in high-tech industries.
The EU and China have also been wrangling over exports of solar panels.