On November 13, 2023, the European Commission announced that the complaint filed by the European Titanium Dioxide Ad Hoc Coalition (ETDC) in September this year officially launched the anti-dumping procedure to investigate the dumping and industrial injury of China's titanium dioxide to the EU.

Commodity: Titanium dioxide, chemical formula TiO2, in various forms such as titanium dioxide or pigments and titanium dioxide-based formulations, containing at least 80% by weight of titanium dioxide on a dry matter basis with all types of particle sizes. It is classified under the CAS Registry Numbers (CAS RN) 12065-65-5 and 13463-67-7 ("Product under Investigation") and is currently classified under CN codes ex 2823 00 00 and 3206 11 00 (TARIC codes 2823000010 and 2823000030).

Country/Economy: Chinese mainland.

Litigation: On November 13, 2023, the Official Gazette issued an announcement to initiate anti-dumping proceedings against imported titanium dioxide (TiO2) originating in Chinese mainland. The European Commission (the "Commission") has received complaints alleging dumping practices on imported titanium dioxide ("TiO2") that have caused injury to EU industry. The complaint was filed on 29 September 2023 by the European Ad Hoc Consortium for Titanium Dioxide (ETDC) (Complainant). The complaint was allegedly filed on behalf of TiO₂ Alliance Industries.

Date: The dumping and injury investigation period is from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023 (investigation period). A review of trends related to injury assessment will cover the period from January 1, 2020 to the end of the investigation period (the period under consideration).

Background of the event:

According to foreign media, ETDC is temporarily formed by the producers of the titanium dioxide alliance to safeguard the interests of the industry. The organization believes that in the past few years, Chinese mainland titanium dioxide has been highly dumped in the European market, which has led to EU producers to the point of unsustainability. They expect dumping of 45 to 65 percent, and mainland exporters have publicly pledged not to reduce production lines and capacity, but this has forced several European factories to shut down, leading to the EU's increased dependence on importing key raw materials.

ETDC also said that the alliance's capacity can cover 90% of the EU's demand, and there are multiple import substitutions.