The United States Department of Commerce said on Friday it launched an anti-dumping investigation on China's silica bricks products.

Silica bricks are a type of refractory brick used to line the roofs of smelting-coke ovens and hot-blast stoves. In 2011, China's exports of silica bricks to the US were worth $43.2 million.

According to the US Department of Commerce, the investigation resulted from a complaint from Utah Refractories Corp, which on behalf of the American industry of silica bricks and shapes claimed that silica bricks imported from China have hurt related industries in the US.

The US company claimed that the dumping range of Chinese-made silica bricks is between 118.47 percent and 290.12 percent.

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