China announced Monday that it has launched a mid-term examination into the dumping case of a petrochemical company of the Republic of Korea (ROK).

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced that it will examine the necessity of continuing to collect anti-dumping tariffs on imported styrene butadiene rubber originating from the ROK company.

The ministry decided in September last year to levy a 19 percent anti-dumping tariff on the ROK products. The ROK company filed an application for the mid-term examination in October this year, saying that market conditions in China have changed and its dumping rate has been lowered.

The examination is expected to last for one year.

(Xinhua News Agency December 14, 2004)