Edaily

Korea's trade regulator decided Thursday to extend antidumping duties on ceramic tiles from China for three years after concluding that they are being dumped in the local market.

Antidumping duties ranging from 9.14 percent to 29.41 percent will be slapped on imports, the Korea Trade Commission (KTC) said after a review of complaints filed by four local manufacturers.

Seoul had initially levied punitive duties ranging from 2.76 percent to 29.41 percent starting in December 2005 after imports of ceramic tiles from China jumped sharply from 2001 through 2005.

Ceramic tiles are used mainly in the construction sector with the domestic market topping 600 billion won ($545.7 million) in sales in 2009.

The commission under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, in addition, said that it has reviewed requests made by South Korean companies to extend present antidumping duties levied on polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) film from China and India, and decided to start a new probe into possible unfair practices.

Punitive measures against PET film have been in place since October 2008, but imports that dipped in 2009 started to rebound last year. Such developments could result in serious losses for local companies if antidumping duties are lifted.

The local market for the product used to make snack wrappers and tinted glass reached 1.1 trillion won last year.

The KTC said it will also start an investigation against kraft paper products made in Russia, the United States, Indonesia, China and Canada for possible undercutting of prices that drew fire from local companies.

"Complaints lodged by such companies as Ssangyong Paper warrant a formal investigation," it said.

The domestic kraft paper market stood at around 150 billion won in 2010 with the country imposing antidumping measures against imported kraft paper products in late 2008.

The trade regulator, meanwhile, ruled that Taeyeon Medical, a local medical equipment company, violated intellectual property rights of a Swiss firm and ordered immediate remedial action that includes a ban on production and exports. (Yonhap)