BEIJING - The Ministry of Commerce said Thursday that it will impose five-year anti-dumping duties on high-performance stainless steel seamless tubes imported from the European Union and Japan.

Duty rates will range from 9.2 percent to 14.4 percent and will become effective on Friday, the ministry said.

An investigation showed that the EU and Japan have been dumping high-performance stainless steel seamless tubes into the Chinese market, substantially harming Chinese producers, the ministry said in a statement.

China launched an anti-dumping probe into steel tubes made in the EU and Japan in September last year.

The MOC issued a preliminary ruling on May 8 stating that the EU and Japan have been dumping high-performance stainless steel seamless tubes into the Chinese market.