The EU’s tariff landscape saw a significant and focused update on 11 June, with all detected changes relating to a single major trade defence action. New anti-dumping duties on certain glass fibre products from China and Egypt took immediate effect, applying duties as high as 69%. Crucially, the regulation extends these duties to goods of Chinese and Egyptian origin that are consigned from Morocco and Türkiye, signaling a crackdown on circumvention.
The themes
Regulatory activity on 11 June was exceptionally concentrated, with a single, decisive trade defence action accounting for all 1,020 changes detected. The day’s entire focus was on tightening import conditions for glass and glassware products under HS Chapter 70. The implementation of over 400 new measures and 600 new conditions, all effective immediately, underscores the EU’s intent to act swiftly against what it deems unfair trade practices.
Headline items
The central event was the imposition of definitive anti-dumping duties on certain glass fibre products originating in China and Egypt, enacted via Regulation (EU) 2026/1203. The measures are notable for both their high rates and their explicit anti-circumvention scope.
Key aspects of the new duties include:
- China: A duty rate of 69% applies to goods originating in China.
- Egypt: A duty rate of 33.1% applies to goods originating in Egypt.
- Anti-Circumvention: The regulation specifically targets products originating in China or Egypt but consigned to the EU from Morocco or Türkiye, applying the respective anti-dumping duties to prevent evasion.
- Scope: The duties affect dozens of commodity lines for glass fibres, primarily under HS heading 7019.
Coming into force
Reflecting the urgency of the action, all new measures loaded on 11 June took effect the same day. In total, nearly 1,200 measures became active, dominated entirely by the new anti-dumping framework for glass fibres. No significant future-dated measures were loaded into the tariff schedule.
What to watch
The explicit targeting of consignment routes through Morocco and Türkiye is a strong signal of the Commission’s focus on enforcing trade defence measures robustly. Importers and logistics operators dealing in goods originating from China and Egypt should scrutinize their supply chains, as routing through third countries is clearly insufficient to avoid liability for these new duties.