ST. PAUL — Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton is hailing the U.S. government’s decision to impose duties on imports of steel pipe from South Korea, India and seven other countries.

In a statement, Dayton calls the Commerce Department’s ruling “a huge victory for Minnesota steelworkers.”

The Commerce Department said Friday it had found that dumping of the steel pipe imports into the U.S. harmed competition.

Last month Dayton attended a miners’ rally that drew hundreds of people on northern Minnesota’s Iron Range. The rally called for an end to foreign countries illegally dumping steel in the U.S. and threatening the local mining industry.

The Democratic governor had sent a letter to President Barack Obama this week, urging the administration to enforce the law.