Japan imposes anti-dumping duty on China imports used in plastic bottles

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japanese government on Tuesday approved a provisional anti-dumping duty to be applied to Chinese imports of a polymer resin used in plastic bottles for the remainder of 2017.

The trade and finance ministries launched an investigation last year into imports of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with a high degree of polymerization from mainland China after a request for a duty by four firms, including Mitsui Chemicals .

The anti-dumping duties have not been officially set but are expected to range from 39.8 percent to 53 percent, a government source who is familiar with the matter said. No duty is imposed on Chinese imports of the product at present, the source said.

Japan imported 364,258 tonnes of the product from China in the year ended March 2016, up 22 percent from the previous year and accounting for 55.2 percent of the country's total imports, an interim government report showed earlier this month.

The duties would take effect from Sept. 2 to Jan. 1 next year.

If the Japanese government reached a final decision on imposing anti-dumping duties based on World Trade Organization rules, the duties, which could be revised, could be extended for up to five years, the source said.

(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Richard Pullin)