China will continue to impose antidumping duties on acetone imports from Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, pending an investigation, according to a notice on the Bureau of Fair Trade for Imports and Exports' website Friday.

The investigation will be carried out over June 8, 2013 to June 8, 2014, the bureau, which is under the Ministry of Commerce, added.

On December 7 last year, the ministry announced that the tariffs imposed on acetone imports from these countries would expire on June 9 this year.

It had then invited domestic producers, their representatives, legal personnel and other relevant bodies to send in their reviews 60 days before the expiry date.

On April 3 this year, China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation's Beijing Yanshan and Shanghai Gaoqiao branches, representing the country's acetone industry, wrote to the ministry that removal of the tariffs might lead to renewed dumping of the material harming domestic producers. So they asked for the antidumping duties to be extended, and this was supported by China Bluestar Harbin Petrochemical and Zhongsha (Tianjin) Petrochemical.

The companies accounted for more than 50% of China's acetone production in 2012.

As a result of this, the Ministry of Commerce decided to start an investigation from June 8 and also to continue with the antidumping duties while the probe is on. The investigation will cover the period from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2012.

The countries affected by the tariffs have up to 20 days from the announcement to contact the bureau with details and can request for a hearing on their case, the notice added.

The ministry had imposed antidumping duties of between 5% and 51.6% on acetone imports from Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan on June 8, 2008. On September 9, 2010, the ministry lowered the tariff on imports from South Korea's Kumho P&B Chemicals from 8.9% to 4.3% following a request from the company.