BEIJING - The Ministry of Commerce said Wednesday that it will continue to levy five-year anti-dumping duties on epichlorohydrin imported from four countries.

Effective Thursday, importers of ECH from the United States, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Russia will be required to pay deposits to Chinese customs ranging from 3.8 percent to 71.5 percent, depending on the level of dumping, according to a statement on the ministry's website.

The ministry imposed five-year anti-dumping duties on ECH from the four countries on June 28, 2006 after finding that the imports had damaged the domestic sector.

The removal of the anti-dumping duties would likely lead to the continuation or recurrence of dumping and injury; therefore, the ministry has decided to maintain the duties for another five years, according to the statement.

ECH is widely used in medicine, organic solvents and plastic manufacturing.