Following the German Industrial Association’s call on the European Union to accelerate stronger trade defense measures against Chinese companies, the European chemical industry manufacturers also urged Brussels to take more rapid and forceful action in response to the surge in imports from China, according to a report by Nikkei Asia on Thursday (July 16). They warned that the trade imbalance leading to factory closures is accelerating.
With the United States and other markets imposing more trade barriers on imports from China, Europe has become an increasingly important destination for exports. However, the influx of Chinese imports is exacerbating the high energy costs and growing pressure from strict environmental regulations that European manufacturers are already facing.
Quoting Rudy Miller, Vice President of the Belgian chemical company Vynova, the report stated that “some industries have begun to disappear, and this is no longer hypothetical. Every week, every month, there are significant announcements of plant closures, layoffs, and production cuts.”
Vynova, once the second-largest producer of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in Europe, a plastic material widely used in pipes, floor tiles, wire insulation, and medical equipment, has seen Chinese PVC imports to Europe increase tenfold in the past 18 months.
Vynova has closed a production facility in the Netherlands, and three other plants are undergoing legal restructuring. While the company has filed anti-dumping complaints against Chinese competitors, Miller pointed out that the pace of anti-dumping investigations is too slow, urging the EU to implement interim protective measures while investigations are ongoing.
According to data from Cefic, the trade association representing the European chemical industry, since 2020, Chinese chemical exports to Europe have grown by 182%, while the number of chemical plants closing in the region has increased sixfold.
Moreover, since 2022, Chinese chemical imports have consumed 9% of Europe’s production capacity, leading to the loss of about 20,000 direct jobs due to plant closures, with the chemical industry supporting 19 million jobs throughout the EU.
“China’s massive subsidies to expand manufacturing have harmed those short-sighted trade partners – they acquiesce to their critical industries being hollowed out, thinking it will bring significant climate benefits,” said Steve Dossett, CEO of Ineos Inovyn, a subsidiary of the global chemical company Ineos Group, to Nikkei Asia.
“Europe has been exporting industries, job opportunities, and capital while importing products with higher carbon emissions from other regions,” Dossett added. “The result is weakened resilience and decreased competitiveness.”
Amid serious trade imbalances between the EU and China, data released by China’s customs showed that in June 2026, China’s trade surplus with the EU grew by 27% compared to the previous year, reaching a new high of $32.9 billion. However, different EU member states are affected differently, with China’s trade surplus with Germany more than doubling compared to the same period last year, while the surplus with France plummeted by 81%.
As trade tensions between the EU and China escalate, Denis Redonnet, the EU’s Chief Trade Enforcement Officer, stated this Tuesday that if substantial progress is not made on addressing trade imbalances by the deadline in October, the EU will adopt “unilateral” trade defense measures to address the influx of cheap Chinese imports and reduce the trade deficit between the EU and China.