Brussels imposes provisional anti-dumping duties up to 51.5% on copper tube imports

The European Commission has imposed provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of copper tubes originating in China, Mexico, Vietnam and Uzbekistan, with rates ranging from 5.6% to 51.5% and secured by a deposit payable from the first day of application. The decision is contained in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2497 of 10 November 2026, signed in Brussels by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ L, 11.11.2026). It enters into force on 12 November 2026, the day after publication.

The proceedings began with a complaint lodged on 26 January 2026 by the EU Copper Tubes Defence Committee on behalf of the Union industry, and the Commission opened its investigation on 12 March 2026 under Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 (the basic Regulation). Imports had already been made subject to registration by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1161 of 22 May 2026. The dumping and injury investigation covered 2025, while injury trends were examined from 2022 to the end of that period.

The product covered is pipes and tubes of refined copper, in level wound coils, whether smooth or with inner grooves, not further processed, currently falling under CN code ex 7411 10 90 (TARIC code 7411 10 90 10). The Commission notes that the tubes are used in heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration, in sanitary, medical and industrial applications, and as a component of certain renewable energy networks.

Duty rates, company by company

• China: Ningbo Jintian Copper Tube Co. Ltd 33.5%; all other imports originating in China 51.5%.
• Mexico: GD Affiliates de RL de CV 18.2%; all other imports 18.2%.
• Vietnam: Jintian Copper Industrial Company Limited 13.8%; Hailiang (Vietnam) Copper Manufacturing Co., Ltd 12.3%; other cooperating companies 13.3%; all other imports 14.4%.
• Uzbekistan: ICG Infinity Copper Group LLC and Metal Processing Technology LLC 11%; Angren Pipe Plant LLC 5.6%; JV Sharq Tubes LLC 6.8%; all other imports 11%.

Lesser duty rule for three countries, dumping margin for China

For Mexico, Vietnam and Uzbekistan the duties were set under the lesser duty rule of Article 7(2) of the basic Regulation, at the lower of the dumping and injury margins — Hailiang (Vietnam), for example, carries a 20.4% dumping margin but a 12.3% injury margin. For China the Commission applied Article 7(2a), after finding that copper cathodes, which account for more than 90% of production costs, are subject to an export tax and a withdrawal of VAT refunds, with international prices 6% to 8% above Chinese domestic levels. Because the Chinese injury margin (13.8%) was below the dumping margin, the duty was set at the dumping level.

Imports up 32% and an industry in loss

Cumulated imports from the four countries rose from 21,864 tonnes in 2022 to 28,939 tonnes in 2025, an increase of 32%, lifting their share of the free market by about 8 percentage points to between 25% and 28%. Price undercutting averaged 9.93% overall, and 16.36% for Chinese imports. The Union industry — 11 producers, around 110,000 tonnes of output — saw production fall 17%, capacity utilisation drop to 57% and profitability slide from 1.0% in 2022 to minus 1.5% in the investigation period, with net cash flow collapsing from about €22.3 million to €139,884.

Deposits, invoices and deadlines

• Release for free circulation is conditional on a security deposit equal to the provisional duty.
• Individual rates apply only on presentation of a valid commercial invoice carrying a signed declaration identifying the producer and its TARIC additional code.
• Customs authorities must discontinue the registration of imports set up by Regulation (EU) 2026/1161; data on goods entered up to 90 days before entry into force will be kept pending possible definitive measures.
• Interested parties have 15 calendar days from entry into force to submit written comments, and 5 calendar days to request a hearing with the Commission or with the Hearing Officer.

The duties land directly on traders, distributors and construction or HVAC buyers, since five responding users reported that copper tubes represent between 3.2% and 18.5% of the manufacturing cost of their downstream products; most users who commented backed the measures. The Commission argues that supply is not at risk, with more than 80,000 tonnes of spare capacity in the Union and alternative sources in Japan, Thailand, the United States, Türkiye and India. The findings remain provisional and may be amended at the definitive stage.

Source: Official Journal of the European Union, L series 2026/2497, 11 November 2026, p. 1 (official reference: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2497, ELI: reg_impl/2026/2497/oj).