New EU anti-dumping investigations into PET Spunbond, CRFs and Alkyl Phosphonic Acids and their Sodium Salts

Last week, the EU Commission opened three anti-dumping investigations which could lead to substantial anti-dumping duties on future imports.

These concern EU imports of

• PET Spunbond originating in the People´s Republic of China
• certain cold-rolled flat steel products (‘CRF’) originating in India, Japan, Taiwan, Türkiye and Vietnam
• certain alkyl phosphonic acids and their sodium salts originating in the People´s Republic of China.

PET Spunbond originating in the People´s Republic of China

The investigation was already launched on 15 September 2025.

The product under investigation for alleged dumping is non-woven needle-punched sheets of polyester filaments, whether or not reinforced by glass fibres, weighing more than 70 g/m2, of a thickness exceeding 0,5 mm but not exceeding 1,8 mm, impregnated with one or more binders, containing less than 30 % of glass fibres by weight, not coated or covered.

The product is currently classified under CN codes ex 5603 13 90, 5603 14 20 and ex 5603 14 80 (TARIC codes 5603 13 90 70 and 5603 14 80 70).

Cold-rolled flat steel products (´CRF´) from India, Japan, Taiwan, Türkiye and Vietnam

The investigation was launched on 18 September 2025 and concerns flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, or other alloy steel but excluding of stainless steel, of all widths, cold-rolled (cold-reduced), not clad, plated or coated and not further worked than cold-rolled (cold-reduced), but not including:

• flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, of all width, cold-rolled (cold-reduced), not clad, plated or coated, not further worked than cold-rolled, whether or not in coils, of all thickness, electrical,
• flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, of all width, cold-rolled (cold-reduced), not clad, plated or coated, in coils, of a thickness of less than 0,35 mm, annealed (known as ‘black plates’),
• flat-rolled products of other alloy steel, of all width, of silicon-electrical steel, and
• flat-rolled products of alloy steel, not further worked than cold-rolled (cold-reduced), of high-speed steel.

The products under investigation are currently classified under the CN codes ex 7209 15 00, 7209 16 90, 7209 17 90, 7209 18 91, ex 7209 18 99, ex 7209 25 00, 7209 26 90, 7209 27 90, 7209 28 90, 7211 23 30, ex 7211 23 80, ex 7211 29 00, 7225 50 80, 7226 92 00 (TARIC codes 7209 15 00 90, 7209 18 99 90, 7209 25 00 90, 7211 23 80 19, 7211 23 80 95, 7211 23 80 99, 7211 29 00 19, 7211 29 00 99).

Alkyl phosphonic acids and their sodium salts originating in the People´s Republic of China

The investigation was launched on 18 September 2025.

The product subject to the investigation is 2-phosphonobutane-1,2,4-tricarboxylic acid (‘PBTC’ or ‘PBTCA’) and its sodium salt Tetrasodium hydrogen 2-phosphonatobutane-1,2,4-tricarboxylate (‘PBTC-Na4’), in solid form or in an aqueous solution.

The product under investigation usually falls under the Chemicals Abstract Services (‘CAS’) 37971-36-1 and 66669-53-2, is registered in the European Union under the European Community (EC) reference numbers 253-733-5 and 266-442-3, respectively, and the Customs and Statistics Numbers (‘CUS’) on the European Customs Inventory of Chemical Substances (‘ECICS’) database are 0027475-9 and 0087281-1.

The product is classified as of 1 January 2025 under CN code 2931 49 80 (TARIC code 2931 49 80 60).

Participation and deadlines

Affected parties, including exporting producers, importers and EU users wishing to comment and defend their interests, can participate in the investigations. Deadlines for participation can be as short as 7 days, so quick action is required if parties intend to participate.

For more information, reach out to your usual CMS contacts or the authors.