China extends anti-dumping duties on South Korean chemical

China said Friday it has extended anti-dumping duties on imports of chemical called bisphenol A (BPA) from South Korea and three other nations for another five years. China's trade ministry slapped the five-year duties on imports of the chemical, widely used to make plastic and epoxy resin, from four nations -- South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore -- in 2007. After the 2007 measure was lifted last year, the Chinese ministry has launched a new anti-dumping probe against imports of such chemical. The extension was decided after the probe found that the chemical imports continued to "damage the interests of domestic industry," the ministry said in a statement. BPA is an organic compound that forms the building blocks for several important plastics and plastic additives such as polycarbonate.