EU imposes duties on sweeteners from China

Admin I Saturday, July 20, 2024

BRUSSELS – The European Union has introduced provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of the calorie-free sweetener erythritol from China.

According to the Official Journal of the EU, an additional tariff rate of 156.7% will now be levied on goods from China’s largest erythritol manufacturer, Sanyuan.

For exports from other manufacturers in China, rates ranging from 31.9 to 235.6% will apply, according to the decree published on Friday evening.

The reason given for the measure is that prices for erythritol are not the result of the free working of market forces but are influenced by significant state interventions.

The anti-dumping duties will initially be in effect for six months, the decree stated.

According to the EU, erythritol is mainly used as a sugar substitute in foods and beverages, either in pure form or mixed with other ingredients such as the natural sweetener stevia.

It is therefore used at the table as well as in beverages, confectionery, baked goods and sports nutrition.

Forecasts of how the new anti-dumping duties could affect sweetener prices in the EU are not included in the EU regulation.

This will depend, among other things, on whether the affected importers or manufacturers pass the additional costs on to customers.

The EU has often responded to dumping prices from Chinese manufacturers with tariff increases. Most recently, for example, a provisional countervailing duty was also introduced on imports of new battery-powered electric vehicles from China.