EU extends duties on Chinese tile imports to 2022

The European Commission has extended duties on Chinese ceramic tile imports for a further 5 years to November 2022, maintaining the levels that had been in force since 2011 (between 30.6% and 69.7% depending on the behaviour of the Chinese exporters during the preliminary investigation).

The investigation lasted more than a year and confirmed the evidence put forward by the European ceramic industry represented by the European Ceramic Tile Manufacturers’ Federation CET. In particular this includes the continued practice of dumping by Chinese exporters as well as the level of China’s overcapacity, equivalent to four times the EU’s entire tile output.

Confindustria Ceramica welcomed the extension of the measure. "This is a vital measure for the Italian and European ceramic industries because it ensures a level playing field in terms of trade amongst all companies operating in the EU market," said Chairman Vittorio Borelli. "The extension of duties will create a stable reference framework for the Italian ceramic industry at a time when it is making major investments in new plants and technologies, giving it greater confidence to tackle the growing competitive challenges in international markets."

Chinese ceramic tile imports to Europe have fallen by 77% since antidumping duties were introduced in 2011, dropping from more than 66 million sq.m to around 16 million sq.m.