(Adds background, analyst comment)
WASHINGTON, Dec 10 (Reuters) - China's decision to slap preliminary duties on a U.S. specialty steel product does not appear justified, Washington trade officials said on Thursday.
"It is unfortunate that China decided to impose provisional countervailing duties on imports of grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) from the United States," said Carol Guthrie, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative's office.
"We do not believe that the imports in question are subsidized, nor do we believe that those imports have harmed the Chinese GOES industry," she said.
China announced on Thursday that it will impose anti-dumping duties of up 25 percent on imports of the specialty steel from the United States and Russia.
It also set additional duties of around 12.0 percent on U.S. steel to offset alleged subsidies.
The action follows a number of U.S. steel industry trade cases against China that have prompted Beijing to accuse the United States of protectionism.
"While the tonnage involved in this trade suit -- 75,000 tons, or less than a tenth of a percentage point of the Chinese market -- is truly trivial, this decision is anything but," said Michelle Applebaum of Steel Market Intelligence in Chicago.
"This trade case reflects an effort by Beijing to stem a surging tide of Western complaints about China's high cost and subsidized steel industry's exports," she said. (Reporting by Doug Palmer; editing by Todd Eastham)