S.Korea to extend anti-dumping duty on Chinese ceramic tiles

SEOUL -- South Korea's trade commission decided Wednesday to extend antidumping duties on ceramic tiles from China for three more years.

The Korea Trade Commission under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy decided to impose antidumping tariff of 9.07 to 29.41 percent on ceramic tiles imported from China for three more years.

The Finance Minister would make a final decision on the extended tariff by the end of February next year.

The punitive duties on Chinese ceramic tiles have been in place since December 2005. Local manufacturers asked the commission to extend the duties for possible damages to the local industry.

The commission also made a preliminary ruling that H-shaped steel from China has been imported at the below-normal price and damaged local manufacturers.

The commission will make a final decision on whether to impose punitive duties on the H-beam after conducting an additional probe for three more years.

In 2013, South Korea's H-steel market amounted to some 2.5 trillion won ($2.2 billion), among which imports from China accounted for about 30 percent of the total.