Recently, China Paint Association organized 26 titanium dioxide enterprises and successfully defended to the EU. The EU decided to reduce the anti-dumping duty imposed on Chinese titanium dioxide by about 7%, and will not be imposed retroactively.

On November 13, 2023, the European Commission, on behalf of the 27 member states of the European Union, initiated an anti-dumping investigation against titanium dioxide originating in China (referred to as: EU anti-dumping investigation). Under the guidance of China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation and through the legal support of Beijing Zhongyin Law Firm, China Coatings Industry Association organized 26 titanium dioxide producers across the country to complete the submission of information related to the complaint by November 20, 2023 .

On June 13, 2024, the European Commission announced the disclosure of facts before the preliminary ruling on the anti-dumping investigation of titanium dioxide against China; on July 11, 2024, the European Commission announced the results of the preliminary ruling, and the anti-dumping tariff rates were calculated according to the dumping margins: 39.7% for Longbai Group, 14.4% for Anhui Jinxing Titanium Dioxide Group, 35% for other respondent enterprises, and 39.7% for other enterprises that did not respond to the case.

Regarding the preliminary ruling results announced by the European Commission, China Coatings Industry Association (CCOIA) communicated with the law firm about the situation in the first instance, and promptly communicated with the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation (CPCIF). With the help of the law firm, it worked with the enterprises to analyze the results of the preliminary ruling in depth, put forward a defense, and reported to the relevant state ministries and commissions. Through the joint efforts of the lawyers and enterprises, a hearing was applied to the European Commission, and at the hearing on August 28, 2024, our enterprises put forward relevant opinions with justifications.

On November 1, 2024, the European Commission published a pre-final fact disclosure document on the anti-dumping investigation of titanium dioxide against China, calculating the anti-dumping tariff rate according to the dumping margins: 32.3% for Long Bai Group, 11.4% for Anhui Jinxing Titanium White Group, 28.4% for other responding enterprises, and 32.3% for other enterprises that have not responded to the investigation, which is a slight decrease in the tariff rate compared to the preliminary ruling, while there will be no retroactive imposition of levies.

In 2024, different enterprises of titanium dioxide are facing very different situations. Titanium dioxide producers such as Longbai Group and CNA Titanium White have significantly improved their performance, with revenue and net profit growing sharply in the first three quarters, and it seems that the negative impact of the anti-dumping investigation on them does not seem to be very serious. In the macroeconomic slowdown as well as the downturn in the real estate industry boom, the domestic titanium dioxide industry supply and demand conflicts have intensified. EU anti-dumping impact also makes part of the titanium enterprise exports to Europe is limited, part of the titanium dioxide enterprises in the downturn under the market environment, profitability is not good, vanadium and titanium shares, Jinpu titanium, Annada, Anning shares (upstream) in the first three quarters of the operating income out of the show a different degree of decline.

Interestingly, the launch of anti-dumping investigations on China's titanium dioxide, some European companies have expressed their concerns.

Paula Salastie, fourth-generation family heir to Finnish coatings company Teknos Teknos, said, “The coatings industry will face a prolonged downturn if consumers are hit by further price rises, and a shortage of raw materials will lead to disruptions in production if supplies from China are diverted elsewhere.” Pedro Serret Salvat, president of the EMEA business of US industrial group PPG, the world's second-largest coatings supplier, argued that the move would have a “negative impact on the competitiveness” of the company's EU manufacturers.

It is reported that the anti-dumping tariff rate of the factual disclosure document before the final ruling is not a nail in the coffin, and may be adjusted or confirmed only in January next year. But regardless of the outcome, in the face of anti-dumping pressure, China's titanium dioxide industry may experience a certain degree of consolidation and transformation, the affected enterprises still need to seek new market opportunities, or through technological innovation, product upgrading and other ways to improve their competitiveness.