INEOS calls for urgent EU action before year-end to stop the “deindustrialisation of Europe and restore a level playing field against Asia, the US, and the Middle East”. The company is filing ten major anti-dumping cases with the European Commission to protect essential chemicals critical to Europe’s automotive, defence, electronics, construction, packaging, and pharmaceutical sectors. The company warns that Europe risks “industrial self-harm” if imports continue unchecked.
Asia, the Middle East, and the US flood Europe with low-cost, carbon-intensive products while they pay a fraction of the European energy costs and no carbon price at all. These products are undercutting European producers who face the world’s highest energy prices and rising expenses that European companies must pay for carbon emissions, imposed by Europe alone, rather than globally.
The cases cover products such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), monoethylene glycol (MEG), 1,4-butanediol (BDO), purified terephthalic acid (PTA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyethylene glycols, butyl acetate, and polyolefins. They are produced across 15 INEOS sites and support over 5,000 direct skilled jobs.
According to the European Chemical Trade Association (CEFIC), Chinese chemical imports rose by 8.3% in the first half of 2025, intensifying pressure on local producers. INEOS warns that current EU anti-dumping measures, such as the proposed 3.7% duty on ABS, are insufficient compared with actual losses of up to 67% reported by the European Commission themselves. Another of many examples is the latest EU-US trade deal, which will make the trade imbalance even worse, as INEOS says, as Europe gives away what little protection it had left against dumped products. Steve Harrington, CEO of INEOS Styrolution, said: “Unless Europe acts decisively, we are finished.”
- Europe’s industry drowns as Brussels lets a tidal wave of carbon-heavy imports flood in, Ineous Press Release 10 Nov 2025. (accessed November 2025)
