China's commerce ministry announced Friday that it will continue to impose anti-dumping duties on acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) imports from the Republic of Korea and Japan.

Upon request from the domestic NBR industry, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) launched an investigation on Nov. 9, 2023 on whether to continue with the duties, before making the final ruling.

The MOC ruled that if anti-dumping measures are terminated, the dumping of NBR imports from the Republic of Korea and Japan may continue or reoccur, causing damage to China's NBR industry.

Therefore, anti-dumping duties will be launched for another five years starting from Saturday, the MOC said.

China imposed anti-dumping duties on NBR imports from the Republic of Korea and Japan on Nov. 9, 2018 for a 5-year period.

The duties for enterprises from the Republic of Korea range from 12 percent to 37.3 percent, while those for Japanese companies range from 16 percent to 56.4 percent, according to the MOC.

NBR is widely used in oil-resistant rubber products.