An employee works at a steel factory in Dalian, Liaoning Province, China, July 4, 2016. China Daily/via REUTERS

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China’s Commerce Ministry said on Wednesday the United States had deliberately misinterpreted World Trade Organization (WTO) rules after the U.S. Commerce Department found in favor of subsidy rates for Chinese steel.

The U.S. Commerce Department found in favor of anti-dumping measures for imports of stainless steel sheet and strip from China and said it had set a preliminary subsidy rate of 57.30 percent for a Chinese steel manufacturer, according to a preliminary finding released on Tuesday.

China’s commerce ministry said in a statement it was not satisfied with the decision and that it would use the WTO dispute settlement process to defend its interests.

Recently, the United States levied high taxes on Chinese stainless steel, cold rolled steel, corrosion-resistant steel plate and other goods that served as a “man-made obstacle” and an effective “rejection of Chinese steel products”, the commerce ministry statement said.