EU countries resume anti-dumping duties on Chinese titanium dioxide

According to Reuters, EU member states approved on Wednesday the EU's long-term, anti-dumping duties against titanium dioxide (TiO2) imported from China, according to sources in the EU investigation. Some 15 EU countries expressed their support for the tariffs, eight voted against, and four abstained. The products are chiefly used as white pigments for paints and are to take effect on January 11, remaining for five years.

The European Commission proposed tariffs of 0.25 euros per kilogram on Anhui Jinxing Group and 0.74 euros on Longbai Group, of which 0.64 euros for companies which cooperated with the investigation and 0.74 euros for all other companies.

In July, the EU had imposed provisional tariffs on imports from India ranging from 14.4% to 39.7%. These tariffs will be replaced by final tariffs slightly lower by percentage. The investigation was initiated a year ago by the European Commission, which is responsible for coordinating EU trade policy, after an undisclosed alliance of EU producers lodged a complaint. They claim that unfairly cheap Chinese imports surged to a 22% market share that has eroded profitability of EU producers to unsustainable levels; they further asserted that EU industry could satisfy 90% of the bloc's needs from imports from other countries, including the UK, Mexico, and the US.

Imports of Chinese titanium dioxide exceeded €500 million in 2023, Eurostat data showed. EU producers include Cinkarna, Kronos, Tronox, and Venator. In a letter sent to EU member states last week, CEPE, the European Coatings and Printing Inks Association, urged them to reject the tariffs, warning that titanium dioxide accounts for around 20% of the final cost of a finished product and poses a serious risk to the €33 billion-a-year EU coatings industry. Imports of TiO2 used for producing white graphic inks for printing have been exempted.