The European Commission has launched an investigation to assess whether anti-dumping measures are warranted on imports of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from Vietnam.

The launch follows a complaint from EU PET producers, which alleges that dumped imports from Vietnam are harming the EU’s PET-producing industry.

If the investigation confirms that the EU PET industry suffers from injury or a threat of injury caused by dumped imports from Vietnam, the Commission may impose anti-dumping duties on imports.

Anti-dumping duties are taxes imposed on imported goods in order to compensate for the difference between their export price and their normal value, if dumping causes injury to producers of competing products in the importing country.

The investigation, launched on May 22, will last a maximum of 14 months.

Provisional anti-dumping measures may be imposed within eight months if dumping and consequent injury have been provisionally established.

In April 2024, the European Union imposed anti-dumping duties between 6.6% and 24.2% on imports of certain PET products from China.

Imports of PET into Europe doubled between 2021 and 2022, reaching 1.9 million tonnes. India, China and Turkey were amongst the biggest exporters in terms of volumes and value followed by Indonesia, Egypt and Vietnam. Imports represented nearly 30% of the total demand for PET in Europe in 2022, compared to only 23% in 2020.

Industry groups have warned that low demand and competition with cheap virgin imports endangers the European plastics recycling industry.