The Ministry of Finance yesterday announced it would levy stiff anti-dumping duties on cement and cement clinker imports from China, citing damage to the local cement sector.

A provisional 91.58% duty will be slapped on Chinese-imported Portland cement type I, type II and its cement clinker, the ministry said in a statement.

The imposition will be backdated to  30 May and last five years, ending on  29 May 2016, the statement added.

“Evidence showed that the imports caused substantial damage to the nation’s cement industry, while a further probe confirmed that levying anti-dumping duties would not have an obvious negative impact on Taiwan,” it said.

A complaint was filed by the Taiwan Cement Products Association, which said cheaper Chinese imports had hurt its members’ businesses.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs’ International Trade Commission began an investigation in October last year and found that the dumping of Portland cement from China onto the Taiwanese market had damaged local cement producers, such as Taiwan Cement Corp and Asia Cement Corp.