BEIJING -- China's Ministry of Commerce said Friday that it will extend anti-dumping duties on sulfamethoxazole from India for another five years, effective from Sunday.

SMZ is an antibiotic commonly used to treat urinary tract infections.

The decision came after the ministry finished its one-year examination, which determined that if the tariffs were lifted, the dumping activities may continue and create losses for Chinese producers.

The ministry slapped five-year anti-dumping duties ranging from 10.1 percent to 37.7 percent on SMZ imports from India on June 15, 2007, after finding that the imports hurt the interests of domestic manufacturers.