The US is to launch an anti-dumping probe to see if fabricated structural steel from Canada, Mexico and China is being sold at below fair value.

According to the US Commerce Department this week, the steel being investigated is that used on major commercial and residential projects, as well as for things like arenas and convention centers, Reuters reports.

This new duty probe is based on a petition filed recently by a US steel trade group and is aimed at deciding whether to seek duties of 30 per cent for Canadian and Mexican steel and 222 per cent for the Chinese metal as a response to imports coming in below the market price.

A preliminary decision on the issue is set to come from the International Trade Commission by March 21st 2019, while the final determinations are scheduled for the end of September this year.

Earlier this month, the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction said it would oppose any petition that calls for anti-dumping duty on steel coming from the North American country and insisted  "allegations that these products from Canada are unfairly traded and cause injury to US producers of fabricated steel products are baseless".

Meanwhile, Canada and Mexico have called upon the US government to drop national security tariffs on steel and aluminium products following a deal made last year to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement.

An anti-dumping duty is a penalty imposed on suspiciously low-priced imports designed to increase their price in the importing country and protect local industry from unfair competition.

Duties are assessed in an amount equal to the difference between the importing country's Free/Freight on Board price of the goods and the market value of similar goods in the exporting country or elsewhere.