China has decided to impose anti-dumping tariffs on pure terephthalic acid imported from Thailand and the Republic of Korea (ROK), the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.

The five-year tariffs, ranging from 2 percent to 20.1 percent, took effect Thursday, the ministry said in a notice posted on its website.

The MOC said the dumping of terephthalic acid on the China market had caused substantial damage to the domestic industry.

The ministry started an anti-dumping probe into imports of the acid on Feb. 12, 2009.

On Feb. 12, 2010, the MOC announced the the preliminary ruling of the investigation, which required importers of pure terephthalic acid from Thailand and the ROK to put down a security deposit.

Terephthalic acid is an organic compound used in polyester coatings and resins.