An investigation was launched in March following complaints of unfair competition and levies were applied in July for an initial period of four months.

The finance ministry said Thursday it and the Ministry of Economic Affairs had “finally determined that the companies involved had engaged in dumping, and that such dumping had caused substantial harm to the domestic industry”.

Companies cited by the ministry included the Chinese subsidiaries of Budweiser and Kirin beer.

The levies on Chinese-made beer will range from 19.13% to 51.94% while for steel they will be either 16.10% or 20.15%.

They will be in place for five years, starting from July 2025.

Some beer importers likely knew “that foreign exporters were engaging in dumping likely to cause harm” between April 4 and July 2 and those goods will also be hit with duties, the ministry said.

China was the biggest source of beer imports to Taiwan last year, Bloomberg News reported previously, with shipments topping US$125 million.

Taiwan currently has 13 cases of anti-dumping duties on products, including 10 from China, which is its largest trade partner, official data show.

Tensions between Taiwan and China remain high as Beijing maintains military, political and diplomatic pressure on the democratic island, which it claims is part of its territory and has threatened to seize by force.