Ⅰ. Background
On June 3, 2024, the European Commission announced that it was launching a second anti-dumping investigation into China's rolled aluminum foil, claiming that it wanted to “prevent China's low-priced aluminum foil from hitting the European market”. This is the third consecutive year that the EU has initiated anti-dumping actions against Chinese aluminum products - in 2020, it imposed tariffs of up to 48% on Chinese aluminum profiles, and in 2021, it imposed countervailing duties on aluminum foil products.
Ⅱ. the core content of the duty increase
1. Duty rate standard:
Harmonized anti-dumping duty of 24.6% imposed on rolled aluminum foil products
Importers are required to pay deposits to continue sourcing from China
2. Scope of investigation:
Mainly involves aluminum foil rolls used for food packaging and industrial materials, covering more than 80% of China's aluminum foil products exported to Europe.
Ⅲ. Chinese enterprises are hit
1. Loss of orders:
Some Chinese companies' exports to Europe have plummeted by 99%, and some companies have directly abandoned the European market.
Aluminum foil export cost increased by 30%, European customers turn to Turkey, South Korea suppliers
2. Inventory backlog:
About 50,000 tons of aluminum foil stranded in China's ports, enterprises were forced to reduce prices and resell in Southeast Asia.
Ⅳ. How to deal with it
1. Grouping together to fight lawsuits:
7 large aluminum foil enterprises jointly hired lawyers to respond to the lawsuit, accusing the EU of “abusing trade rules”.
Complained through the WTO dispute settlement mechanism, striving for a lower tax rate.
2. Adjust product structure:
Shift to high-end aluminum for new energy vehicles, aerospace aluminum and other high-value-added products to avoid low-priced competition.
3. Bypassing third countries:
Set up factories in Vietnam and Malaysia for processing, labeled as “Made in Southeast Asia” and exported to Europe.
