Brussels hits Chinese PET Spunbond: definitive duties of up to 48.1 percent

The European Commission has imposed definitive anti-dumping duties of up to 48.1 % on imports of PET Spunbond originating in China, closing an investigation opened fifteen months ago into dumped Chinese sales in the EU market. The decision, adopted on 29 October 2026 and published on 30 October 2026 in the Official Journal of the European Union, is contained in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2393. The regulation also definitively collects the provisional duties levied since May and releases any amount secured above the final rates.

The case began with a complaint lodged on 8 August 2025 by Freudenberg Performance Materials and Johns Manville, identified in the text as the only known Union producers of the product. The Commission initiated the investigation on 15 September 2025 under Regulation (EU) 2016/1036, and made imports subject to registration through Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2409 of 1 December 2025. Provisional duties followed on 14 May 2026 under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1063 of 12 May 2026. The investigation period ran from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025, with trends examined from 1 January 2022.

The product concerned is defined as non-woven needle-punched sheets of polyester filaments, reinforced or not with glass fibres, weighing more than 70 g/m², with a thickness above 0.5 mm but not exceeding 1.8 mm, impregnated with one or more binders and containing less than 30 % glass fibres by weight, uncoated or uncovered, falling under CN codes ex 5603 13 90, 5603 14 20 and ex 5603 14 80. It is used mainly as a carrier for bituminous waterproofing membranes in the construction industry.

A duty ladder running from 39.8 % to 48.1 %

The definitive rates, expressed on the CIF Union border price and duty unpaid, are set per company:

• Hubei Unibon Nonwovens Co Ltd: 39.8 % (TARIC additional code 88CB)
• Changde Tiandingfeng Nonwovens Co Ltd and Tiandingfeng Nonwovens Co Ltd: 48.1 % (88CC)
• Other cooperating companies not sampled: 47.1 % (codes listed in the annex, including Hebei Jinliu Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd., Hebei Saikefu Nonwovens Co., Ltd., Hubei Bushi Nonwovens Co., Ltd., Shouguang Fada Cloth Co., Ltd. and Jiangyin Huasicheng Nonwoven Co., Ltd.)
• All other imports originating in China: 48.1 % (8999)

Individual rates apply only on presentation of a valid commercial invoice carrying a signed declaration identifying the manufacturer, its address and its TARIC additional code; without it, the country-wide rate applies.

Injury: market share up from 6 % to 26 %

The Commission found that Chinese imports climbed from an estimated 3,400–4,200 tonnes to 17,600–21,500 tonnes over the period considered, an increase of 417 %, while Union consumption grew only 15 %. The Chinese share of the EU market rose from 6 % to 26 %, while the Union industry’s share fell from 86 % in 2022 to 63 % in 2024 before recovering to 67 % in the investigation period. Profitability collapsed from around 15–16.5 % in 2022 to between −0.5 % and −1.5 %, and return on investment fell from 81 % to −6 %.

Because the injury margins (underselling of 50 % to 57.5 %) exceeded the dumping margins, the duties were fixed at the dumping level, in line with Article 7(2) of the basic regulation. The Commission rejected retroactive collection, concluding that imports did not rise substantially after registration, and set the measures for five years.

Downstream users fail to soften the measure

Italian waterproofing manufacturers — Matco S.r.l., SITEB, Valli Zabban SpA, General Membrane SpA, Casali Industria Chimica e Bituminosa SpA and Vetroasfalto SpA — together with the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles (CCCT), argued that Chinese material was technically superior and that the duties would cost 600 jobs in the downstream sector. The Commission rejected the claims for lack of evidence, noted that processing under inward processing arrangements remains available, and pointed to spare EU capacity and alternative suppliers such as Türkiye. By contrast, the Polish association of roofing and waterproofing solutions supported the measures, and users may request an interim review after one year.

The regulation enters into force on 31 October 2026 and was signed in Brussels by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. For European readers it means higher prices for imported polyester non-wovens used in roofing and civil engineering, a protected position for the two remaining EU producers, and a precedent for a series of trade-defence cases in which Brussels has chosen duties at the full dumping level rather than at the lower injury margin.

Source: Official Journal of the European Union, L series, 30 October 2026, section I, p. 1–26 (official reference: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2393).