EU Sets Unfair-Trade Tariff on India, Turkey Tile
BRUSSELS – Ceramic tiles from India and Turkey will be subject to unfair-trade tariffs in European Union (EU) countries.
The European Commission imposed duties ranging from 4.8% to 20.9% on tiles, including porcelain, in a Feb. 9 action. The action is valid for imports into all 27 member states of the EU.
The tariffs went into effect on Feb. 11, following publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
The commission took action after a November 2021 complaint against Indian and Turkish imports by the Brussels-based European Ceramic Tile Manufacturers Association.
The petition initiated an investigation that focused on imports from July 2020 to June 2021. During that time, product from India and Turkey totaled 67 million m²-69 million m², as much as 8.3% of the total market share in EU countries. Turkey accounted for 56.5% of the shipments.
By contrast, ceramic imports in 2018 from the two countries came to approximately 41 million m², or roughly 5.2% of the overall EU ceramic market.
The investigation also found, after sampling data, that EU ceramic producers have technically been running at an overall loss since 2018. The largest gap between production costs and average EU sales, in 2019, showed a negative margin of nearly 15%, although this closed to -2.3% during the July 2020-June 2021 investigative period.
The commission noted it found sufficient evidence of product dumping and issued varying duties, based on data received from companies in India and Turkey. India’s rates ranged from 6.7% for one company (The Icon Group) to an 8.7% countrywide rate for most companies.
A special 7.3% rate for Indian companies cooperating in the investigation included several companies in The Antique Group, which figured in the recent U.S. tile tariff review, and Lioli Ceramica Pvt. Ltd., the producer acquired by Caesarstone.
Turkey’s EU tile tariffs go from 4.8%-9.2% for companies named in the investigation to to a countrywide “all others” rate of 20.9%.
EU tariffs are effective for five years, although the rates can be reviewed after one year in force.
Tariffs can also be renewed in the EU. A 2011 anti-dumping tariff on Chinese ceramic products was extended in November 2017, with rates ranging from 13.9%-36.5% for selected companies, and 69.7% for an all-others countrywide rate.
