The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) said in an announcement that from Monday, all importers of cold-rolled stainless steel sheets made in Japan and the Republic of Korea, will have to pay anti-dumping taxes to Chinese Customs.

The final ruling jointly made by the MOFTEC and the State Economic and Trade Commission says that dumping does exist, and has resulted in substantial injury to relevant Chinese industries.

The amount of guarantee money paid by Chinese importers since the preliminary ruling took effect on April 13 will be converted into taxes in accordance with the anti-dumping tax rate, and the surplus and the guarantee money on products that have been excluded in the final ruling will be refunded on request within six months.

The final ruling will be effective for five years starting from the day when the preliminary ruling took effect, the announcement says.

Some Japanese and ROK companies, who have signed price commitment agreements with the MOFTEC, are excluded from the final ruling, according to the announcement.

(Xinhua 12/18/2000)