The European Council of the Paint, Printing Ink and Artists’ Colours Industry (CEPE) is concerned that punitive tariffs on Chinese imports will affect the competitiveness of the EU paint industry. It calls on the member states to reject the European Commission’s proposal to impose permanent anti-dumping duties on titanium dioxide (TiO2) from China. The white pigment is an important raw material for paints, varnishes and printing inks and accounts for up to 40 % of raw material costs and 20 % of the cost of the end product.
In July 2024, the European Commission imposed provisional tariffs on titanium dioxide imports from China for a period of six months. The EU Commission accuses the Chinese government of using subsidies to artificially suppress prices and thereby distort competition. The member states will soon vote on the European Commission’s latest proposal to make the tariffs permanent.
“Should the majority of member states confirm the Commission’s proposal, this will have an immediate impact on the paint industry, one of the largest users of TiO2,” warns Christel Davidson, managing director of Cepe. “We fear that the impact of these tariffs on the paint sector – particularly on small businesses and downstream industries such as construction – will outweigh any short-term relief for European TiO2 producers.” According to Davidson, European titanium dioxide producers are currently unable to meet the demand of EU industry, so it is difficult to replace imports from China.
“The expectation is that investment in the EU paints sector as a whole will become less attractive, with a direct impact on European TiO2 suppliers,” said Davidson. “This would be an unfortunate outcome for a measure designed to protect European companies from unfair foreign competition.”
Autor(en): spa
