China issues final anti-dumping duties on European chemical

BEIJING, March 12 (Reuters) - China issued final anti-dumping duties on toluene di-isocyanate imported from the European Union, the Commerce Ministry said on Tuesday, the latest in a string of trade actions targeting imported chemicals.

Trade relations between China and the European Union have been strained due to the imposition of a string of anti-dumping tariffs.

Europe and the United States also have been ramping up their use of trade remedies to halt what they say are unfairly priced and subsidized imports from China, the world's second-largest economy.

The latest decision sets duties between 6.6 percent and 37.7 percent on European exports of toluene di-isocyanate, used in the production of polyurethane, plastics and rubber, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

Among companies affected, Bayer Material Science AG will face duties of 19.2 percent and Dow Chemical Tarragona and Perstorp France will face duties of 37.7 percent, it said.

The announcement concludes an investigation into the product that was initiated in March 2012.

In February, China put preliminary duties on European Union exports of the chemical toluidine, used in dyes, medicines and pesticides.

(Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Paul Tait)