EU launches trade investigation into Chinese tinplate

The European Commission (EC) has launched an investigation into Chinese tinplate to determine whether imports to the EU are being sold at excessively low prices, Reuters reports.

The EC launched the anti-dumping investigation following a complaint from the European Steel Association (EUROFER). The investigation will last up to 14 months, with the possible introduction of provisional duties in 7-8 months.

One of the central allegations of the complaint is that Chinese producers benefit from distorted prices for raw materials, in particular for hot-rolled flat products, which account for 60-70% of production costs and are subject to China’s export restrictions.

This investigation is the latest in a series of EU trade and subsidy investigations into Chinese exports and Chinese companies operating in Europe.

EUROFER welcomed the new EU anti-dumping investigation on Chinese tinplate.

«Chinese mills have been flooding the EU market for at least the past four years with their overcapacities of tinplate at dumped prices, putting immense pressure on EU producers that were forced to reduce their prices regardless of the evolution of costs,» said Axel Eggert, CEO of the European Steel Association.

According to the association, the influx of cheap tinplate imports from China has already had serious consequences for EU producers of this product. In addition to lower profitability, this has led to a reduction in production volumes, capacity utilization and market share. From 2021 to 2023, the bloc’s industry lost a quarter of its sales, while the share of the EU consumption market taken by Chinese imports more than doubled over the same period.

In March 2024 the European Commission decided to maintain the current anti-dumping duties on imports of certain types of corrosion-resistant steel products (CRS) from China, in particular hot-dip galvanized coils (HDG), at 17.2-27.9%, depending on the supplier.