The European Union is considering safeguard measures to protect its domestic PET resin chemicals industry from mounting import pressure, as manufacturers grapple with growing global overcapacity and intensifying competition from third-country suppliers.
The European Commission has launched an investigation into whether surging imports are causing serious injury to EU-based producers. If the probe confirms the damage, the Commission could propose safeguard measures, provided they are deemed to be in the EU’s interest.
The investigation covers a broad range of products across the PET resin value chain, including polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in its virgin, recycled and glycol forms, as well as key upstream raw materials – terephthalic acid, mono-ethylene glycol and purified isophthalic acid.
These chemicals are critical industrial inputs for major sectors, including packaging, textiles, construction and advanced materials, making the outcome of the investigation significant for a wide range of downstream industries.
Any safeguard measures would require the backing of a qualified majority of EU Member States. The Commission could also introduce provisional measures if the investigation establishes that the necessary conditions have been met.
If provisional measures are imposed, definitive measures must follow within 200 days, and no later than nine months – or, in exceptional circumstances, eleven months – from the launch of the investigation.
The move comes as the EU already maintains a series of trade defence measures targeting imports of PET chemicals from key trading partners.
These include anti-dumping duties on PET imports from China and anti-subsidy measures on PET imports from India. The bloc also has anti-dumping measures in place on terephthalic acid imports from South Korea and Mexico, as well as mono-ethylene glycol imports from Saudi Arabia and the United States.
