HOUSTON, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. trade protectionism will eventually do harm to its own economy and the global economy as a whole, a U.S. expert on China said Tuesday.

Jon R. Taylor, a political science professor at University of St. Thomas based in Houston, told Xinhua that he is concerned about possible U.S. protectionist practices.

"If you are placing import duties on these sorts of things, you are not only detrimental to our economy, you are detrimental to the world economy ultimately. And I think it's a concern," he said.

Speaking of putting up barriers for Chinese companies doing business in the United States, Taylor said that will reduce foreign direct investment which is key to the U.S. economy.

He believed there is no way to escape globalization. Instead, "you have to engage in economic cooperation."

The U.S. Commerce Department has launched anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations against imports of large-diameter welded pipes from several countries in the latest trade protectionist move by the Donald Trump administration.

The department said Tuesday in a statement that the investigations, targeting products from Canada, China, Greece, India, South Korea and Turkey, were initiated in response to petitions filed by several American companies.

China on Tuesday called on the United States to restrain the use of trade restrictions.

"China is concerned about the U.S. side's serious trade protectionist tendency in the field of steel products," said Wang Hejun, head of the trade remedy and investigation bureau under China's Ministry of Commerce, in a statement.