The European Commission announced on Thursday (January 16) that in order to ensure a fair competitive environment for European industries, it has decided to impose definitive anti-dumping duties on erythritol, a sweetener imported from China (known as “赤蘚糖醇” in Chinese, a common sweetener).
According to the EU, a previous investigation found that this sweetener imported from China was being dumped at unfair low prices in the EU, severely damaging EU companies and causing them to suffer losses in the double-digit percentage, forcing them to cease erythritol production by the end of 2022. The EU erythritol market is valued at around 30 million euros (30.86 million dollars) annually.
The EU pointed out that if immediate measures were not taken, the situation in the alliance industry would continue to deteriorate, potentially leading to the collapse of the entire industry.
The European Commission stated that the definitive anti-dumping duties ranged from 34.4% to 233.3%, retroactively applied from the provisional tariffs imposed between June 7 and July 19 of last year. The level of the provisional tariffs is similar to this.
The Commission indicated that China’s Baolingbao Biotechnology Co., Ltd. would be subject to the lowest tax rate, while Shandong Sinobioway Biomedicine Co., Ltd. would be subject to a 156.7% tax rate. These tax rates will come into effect on Friday (January 17) and be valid for a five-year period.
Erythritol is made from fermentation of starch-based foods such as wheat and corn. It is characterized by white crystalline appearance, slight sweetness, and a cooling effect, suitable for various foods such as chocolate and baked goods.
The EU and China have already imposed a series of tariffs on each other’s export products, particularly the EU imposing tariffs on electric cars imported from China.
On Thursday, Beijing announced that following months of anti-dumping investigations, China would impose provisional tariffs on industrial plastics imported from the United States, the EU, Japan, and Taiwan.