Chinese plywood subject to antidumping duties in ROK

South Korea's trade commission decided to impose preliminary antidumping duties on Chinese plywood as the products made in China were judged to do damages to local manufacturers by selling at lower prices, the economy ministry said Thursday.

The Korea Trade Commission (KTC) decided to tentatively charge punitive duties of 3.75 percent to 35.7 percent on Chinese plywood, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. Whether to impose the provisional duties will be decided by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.

The decision came five months after the trade commission began in November last year to take a preliminary probe into whether Chinese manufacturers undersold their products here. The final decision will be made after the KTC's formal investigation for up to five months.

Domestic companies insisted their sales and profits worsened due to dumping activities by Chinese manufacturers, the ministry said.

South Korea's plywood market reached around 650 billion won (58 million U.S. dollars) as of 2012. Local firms took up 27 percent of market share, while Chinese companies accounted for 38 percent.