BEIJING (Reuters) -China said on Thursday it would apply provisional duties on imports of industrial plastics from the United States, European Union, Japan and Taiwan after a months-long anti-dumping investigation.

The provisional anti-dumping levies on polyacetal copolymers range from 3.8% to 74.9% depending on the country and company and will commence from January 24, the Commerce Ministry said in a statement.

China launched the investigation in May, the same week that U.S. hiked tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and the European Union launched a trade investigation into certain Chinese steel imports.

The nine-month investigation announced its findings days before Donald Trump is due to take office, where he is expected to adopt the hard-line stance on trade begun in his first term.

China imported roughly 3 billion yuan ($409 million) worth from the U.S., Japan, Taiwan and Germany between January and November last year, customs data showed.

The plastics in question can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc and have various applications including in auto parts, electronics, and medical equipment, the Ministry said.

The highest duties will apply to U.S. firms, while European Union companies will face a 42% duty. The majority of Taiwanese and Japanese companies will face duties of 32.6% and 43.7%, respectively.

($1 = 7.3316 Chinese yuan renminbi)