Korea has decided to extend anti-dumping duties on polyester yarn products from China and Taiwan for two years to protect local manufacturers from unfair price-cutting practices, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.

The decision comes a month after the Korea Trade Commission requested slapping punitive duties of up to 6.26 percent on polyester filament partially oriented yarn from the two countries.

POYs are used in clothing, cars, sofas and curtains. The domestic POY market is worth about 220 billion won ($191.3 million).

Seoul has levied anti-dumping duties ranging from 2.97 to 6.26 percent on the yarn products from January 2009 onwards.

The ministry said that it made the decision to extend anti-dumping duties of up to 6.26 percent until July 24, 2014 after reviewing the KTC’s request and complaints from domestic producers that unfairly low-priced products from the two countries could hurt their business.

“This move will provide a chance for domestic producers to maintain a stable production foundation and strengthen their competitiveness by restricting the imports of unfairly low-priced POYs from Taiwan and China,” the ministry said. (Yonhap News)