US Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk said the WTO had broadly upheld Washington's right to place duties on goods from China that were "unfairly subsidized."

"This is a significant win for American workers and businesses affected by unfairly traded imports," Kirk said in a statement.

China had challenged the right to place punitive duties on the lucrative trade in goods used in everything from plumbing to fencing, bringing the case to the WTO in 2008.

The United States had introduced tariffs of around 25 percent on Chinese pipes to prevent subsidized goods being dumped on the US market.

The Geneva-based World Trade Organization, while broadly upholding Washington's right to impose duties, called on the US authorities to change how some of the duties are calculated.

The WTO's dispute settlement body found that the "US Department of Commerce had acted inconsistently" with trade rules in five areas and rejected China's contentions on at least 12 points.

The ruling had been delayed for nearly a year beyond the standard deadline as the dispute settlement panel of independent legal and trade experts grappled with the "substantive complexity" of the case, according to the Geneva-based trade body.

Despite the caveats of the ruling, President Barack Obama's administration welcomed the panel's conclusions.

"This case makes clear that the Obama administration, including USTR and our colleagues at the Department of Commerce, will vigorously defend the application of our trade remedy laws."

It is just one in a series of trade disputes between the two economic superpowers.

They have also clashed over duties on auto parts, coated paper, green technology, steel, chicken and most recently China's currency policies, which the US claims constitute an unfair export subsidy.

China has the right to appeal the WTO panel ruling.

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