EU Confirms Final Duties on Chinese PCR and Light Truck Tyres

The European Union has reached its final decision in the anti-dumping investigation into Chinese passenger car and light truck tyres, confirming definitive duties that will reshape import economics across one of Europe’s largest tyre market segments.

The definitive anti-dumping duties range from 24.4% for cooperating companies to 45.3% for non-cooperating and not-listed exporters. Hankook Group received an individual rate of 4.3%, reflecting its injury margin under the EU’s lesser-duty rule.

The final rates are lower than the earlier April disclosure, which had indicated duties of around 30% to just above 50%, with Hankook initially reported at 3.4%. The revision follows further assessment during the final disclosure process, including adjustments to dumping margins, injury calculations and price comparisons. For background, see Tyre News Media’s earlier coverage: EU Sets 30%-52% Duties on Chinese Car Tyres.

For importers and distributors, the measure introduces a new cost structure for Chinese-origin passenger car and light truck tyres. The duties apply to new pneumatic rubber tyres used on motor cars, including station wagons and racing cars, and on buses or lorries with a load index not exceeding 121.

The products are classified under CN codes 4011 10 00 and 4011 20 10.

The investigation was launched on 21 May 2025 after a complaint from the EU tyre industry alleged that dumped Chinese imports were harming European producers. Tyre News Media reported the launch at the time in EU Opens Formal Anti-Dumping Probe into Chinese Passenger Tyres. The case followed earlier expectations that Brussels was preparing formal action against Chinese tyre imports, covered in EU to Launch Anti-Dumping Probe into Chinese Tyres on 20 May.

At the time of opening the investigation, the European Commission said the EU passenger car and light lorry tyre market was worth more than €18 billion in 2024 and directly employed around 75,000 people across 14 Member States.

The case is significant because it extends EU tyre trade defence into the high-volume passenger and light truck replacement market. Previous EU measures on Chinese truck and bus tyres focused on a separate product category and used fixed per-tyre duty amounts, rather than percentage rates applied to import value.

That distinction matters. Percentage-based duties can affect tyre tiers differently, depending on declared import values, brand positioning, margin structure and contractual arrangements. Budget and mid-range products may be particularly exposed where landed cost is a central part of the sales proposition.

For Chinese exporters, the final decision also highlights the value of cooperation during trade defence investigations. Companies that cooperate and provide data may receive lower treatment than exporters included in the residual rate. Those that do not cooperate, or are not individually listed, face the highest confirmed duty.

For European manufacturers, the decision provides a clearer competitive framework after a prolonged investigation. The EU industry argued that dumped Chinese imports were distorting the market and causing injury. The Commission has now concluded that definitive anti-dumping measures are warranted.

The measure does not remove Chinese passenger and light truck tyres from the EU market. It does, however, change the economics of supplying it. Importers will now need to review sourcing exposure, supplier mix, customs documentation and pricing assumptions.

The case also sits within a broader regulatory environment. In November 2025, the European Commission launched a separate anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese tyres for passenger cars and light lorries covering the same product category. Tyre News Media covered that parallel case in European Commission Launches Anti-Subsidy Investigation into Chinese Car Tyres. That proceeding is separate from the anti-dumping decision and concerns alleged government support rather than dumping.

For wholesalers and retailers, the wider implication is that trade policy is becoming a more important part of tyre distribution strategy. Sourcing decisions are no longer shaped only by price, availability and brand relationships. They increasingly involve origin, regulatory exposure and supplier resilience during trade defence proceedings. This follows wider enforcement and compliance pressures affecting the tyre trade, including those explored in EU Ramps Up Tyre Labelling Enforcement: What it Means for UK Wholesalers.

The industry will now watch how quickly the duties flow through the supply chain, whether importers shift sourcing away from China, and how European manufacturers use the decision to strengthen their position in the replacement market. The decision also comes against a challenging European market backdrop, with Tyre News Media previously reporting that European Tyre Sales Decline 5% in Fourth Quarter as Market Pressures Mount.

One possible response may be further diversification of manufacturing footprints. Chinese tyre producers have already been investing in overseas production capacity, including Sailun’s planned Egypt expansion, covered in Sailun Plans $1.14bn Egypt Tyre Capacity Expansion. While not directly linked to this EU decision, such investments show how global tyre manufacturers are increasingly thinking about production location, market access and trade exposure together.

The definitive duties mark a new phase in Europe’s tyre trade policy. For the tyre sector, they underline how regulation, market access and supply chain strategy are becoming inseparable.

‍

‍

Tagged With: EU, European Commission, China, anti-dumping, PCR tyres, light truck tyres, passenger car tyres, import duties, trade defence, Hankook, Chinese tyre imports

‍