BEIJING -- China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) announced Monday that it would levy provisional anti-dumping duties on phenol imported from the United States, the European Union, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Thailand.

After a preliminary investigation that started in March last year, the MOC determined that phenol imports from the regions had caused substantial damage to the domestic industry.

Importers of the product must place deposits with Chinese customs calculated according to the dumping margins, which ranged between 11.9 percent to 129.6 percent, according to the MOC.

Phenol is an aromatic organic compound used as a pharmaceutical preservative and in dilution.