As of June 10, 2025, in order to protect the interests of local industries in EU member states, the European Union has introduced new temporary tax measures targeting Chinese imports of plywood, including various types of hardwood, imposing anti-dumping tariffs of up to 62.4%.
According to the European Commission, this is a temporary tax rate implemented due to the significant increase in hardwood plywood imports over the past three years, which has harmed the interests of local producers.
The EU pointed out that some Chinese exporters have tried to circumvent the anti-dumping duties on hardwood plywood by applying a “thin veneer” technique, covering the hardwood plywood with extremely thin softwood veneers to bypass customs tax and supervision.
These allegations stem from the “Greenwood Consortium,” an industry alliance representing EU plywood producers.
Last year, the consortium filed a complaint with the European Commission, accusing Chinese exporters of classifying hardwood plywood as “tax-exempt or low-tax” softwood products by using the thin veneer method. As a result, the EU imposed a temporary anti-dumping duty of up to 62.4% on Chinese hardwood plywood in early June and placed monitoring on batches of imported softwood plywood products.
The EU producer group, “Greenwood Consortium,” welcomed the EU’s measure but argued that the final tax rate should be higher than these temporary rates when the European Commission makes the final decision later this year.
According to the Financial Times, last October, the “Greenwood Consortium” filed a lawsuit against Chinese competitors, alleging that Chinese exporters concealed hardwood products to evade taxes, leading Brussels to monitor imports of softwood plywood not covered by the tariff range.
“The alleged practice includes overlaying a very thin softwood veneer on the surface veneer of the hardwood plywood. This practice classifies the product under a customs code that does not require registration and does not change its basic characteristics,” the European Commission stated.
“Therefore, to minimize the risk of evasion, the European Commission believes it is necessary to monitor such imports,” the European Commission warned, indicating that it may initiate anti-evasion investigations, which would impact such imports.
EU industry organizations have long complained that Chinese exporters can evade tariffs by making slight modifications to products or transshipping through third countries, and Brussels’ response has been too slow.
The European Commission stated that from 2021 to 2023, local plywood industry sales, production, and profits had all decreased. In 2023, China accounted for nearly one-third of the EU plywood market, with sales reaching 327 million euros.
Imports from China filled the gap left by the bans on plywood from Russia and Belarus after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Moscow in 2022. In March of this year, the European Commission issued a warning that importers of birch plywood from China should verify if the wood’s origin is Russia or Belarus.
Since the EU imposed up to a 45% antidumping tax on electric cars from China in October 2023, trade protection cases against China have continued to increase steadily. Last month, the EU launched investigations into automotive and truck tires and restricted entry for Chinese companies into its medical equipment market.
According to the Financial Times, Maria Martin-Prat, an EU trade official with China, stated during a meeting on Friday that China should understand that open access to the European market should not be taken for granted. She mentioned that China should be aware of this. The EU has established a series of autonomous defense measures that will be implemented.
The EU also urged China to lift export controls on civilian rare earth magnets. These export controls have led to warnings from the European automotive industry that production lines may be disrupted.
Last week, after a meeting between EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao, Beijing announced a fast-track approval system for EU companies on Saturday.
Brussels stated that civilian products must be exempted. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce also expressed hope for negotiations on the issue of electric car tariffs and hinted at possible cancellations of anti-dumping tariffs imposed on EU bourbon whiskey imports last year in exchange for the lowest price guarantee for EU producers.