The Chinese government has told U.S. government officials that it plans to file countervailing (CV) and anti-dumping (AD) trade petitions against the Detroit-area Big Three automakers.

"This has just arisen in the last 24 hours," Stephen Collins, president of the American Automotive Policy Council (AAPC), told AMM late Wednesday. "We were called by U.S. government representatives and notified—together with General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC—that China had informed the U.S. government it was planning to launch an AD/CV case against American cars and SUVs (sport utility vehicles), and that the target date is Wednesday, Nov. 4."

AAPC, whose formation was announced Oct. 23, represents the "common...