China has told the World Trade Organization it will officially implement emergency tariffs to curb steel imports from Japan beginning Nov. 20, Japanese trade officials said Wednesday.
The move follows China's decision May 24 to impose temporary tariffs on 17 Japanese steel products.
China also said it will officially impose additional tariffs of 10.3 percent to 23.2 percent on five of the products, including hot-rolled steel sheets and cold-rolled stainless sheets, as "safeguard" measures, the officials said.
The measures will stay in effect for three years and account for the time that has passed since May 24, they said.
The officials said Japan will continue to urge China to cancel the tariffs until Nov. 19, which is the deadline for the temporary measures first imposed.
The Japan Iron and Steel Federation said in a statement Wednesday that China's plan could negatively affect those in need of Japanese steel products, such as Chinese automakers and home electronics manufacturers.
"We feel sorry that China is officially launching safeguard measures amid growing concerns around the world over protectionist moves in steel products trade," said Akira Chihaya, chairman of the federation, who is also president of Nippon Steel Corp.
In March, the United States became the first country to impose safeguard measures on steel products, followed by China and the European Union. The EU officially launched the measures in September.