China will lower the rate of anti-dumping duty on coated art paper from Japan after a reevaluation at the request of the importer, according to the Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday.

The ministry said on its website that the duty on paper from Japan's Oji Paper Co. Ltd. would fall from 56 percent to 10.4 percent, effective Wednesday.

Coated art paper is used in high-quality printing, such as magazines.

The statement said the move was taken after reexamination of the normal value and export prices of the paper imports from Oct. 1, 2006 to Sept. 30, 2007, the period the re-investigation targeted.

Oji demanded the review on Sept. 5, 2007. The ministry accepted the application and decided to launch the review on Nov. 5, 2007.

To prove the authenticity and accuracy of the evidence provided by the importer, the ministry sent a group to the Japanese maker for a field survey from June 4-11, 2008.

In its first anti-dumping investigation after joining the World Trade Organization, China imposed temporary anti-dumping tariffs on coated art paper from the United States, the Republic of Korea and Japan on Nov. 26, 2002.

(Xinhua News Agency November 4, 2008)