The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has launched an anti-dumping case against imports of phenols (a widely used plastics and fiber precursor) from four countries and the EU. It marks a step upstream from an earlier BPA case, and follows a 59% surge in imports of phenols in 2017 on a year earlier. The case is aimed mostly at manufacturers in South Korea (32% share of imports after a 3.7x jump on a year earlier) and the U.S. (25%, up 51%), and should be seen against the backdrop of wider trade negotiations with those countries.