EU PET Safeguard Debate Grows as Supplier Patterns Shift

Reports that France and Italy are preparing to ask the European Commission to examine possible safeguard measures on PET, with Germany also expected to support the initiative, have brought PET imports back into the spotlight of the EU's trade-defence debate.

No formal European Commission investigation has been announced so far. The discussions come after anti-dumping duties were imposed on Chinese PET and an anti-dumping investigation into Vietnamese material was later closed without measures.

Trade data show that measures targeting individual origins have repeatedly changed the EU's PET supplier structure, but have not resulted in a sustained reduction in total imports. EU27 PET bottle imports reached a record level of around 1.5 million tons in 2025, up 84% from 2021. China lost its leading position following the duties, Vietnam initially replaced some of the lost volumes, and Türkiye later became the largest supplier.

PET Imports Continue to Expand Despite Supplier Changes

EU27 PET imports have generally maintained an upward trend over recent years, although individual supplier positions have shifted significantly.

2022
Total import change: +47%
China: +196%
Egypt: +160%
Vietnam: +63%

2023
Total import change: +11%
Vietnam: +89%
Türkiye: +24%
China: -22%

2024
Total import change: -3%
Türkiye: +41%
Vietnam: +40%
China: -88%

2025
Total import change: +17%
Türkiye: +53%
Egypt: +28%
Vietnam: -11%

Source: Trade statistics data

The H1 2026 figures show a similar pattern. Total EU27 PET imports increased by only 3% year on year, while Türkiye strengthened its position with a 52% increase. Vietnam's shipments fell 56%, whereas Pakistan's volumes climbed 65%.

This indicates that although the pace of overall import growth has slowed, significant changes among individual suppliers are continuing.

Chinese Duties Reshape the Supplier Landscape

China moved from the third-largest supplier in 2021 to the leading source in 2022 and remained second in 2023.

The European Commission introduced provisional anti-dumping duties in November 2023 before imposing definitive duties ranging from 6.6% to 24.2% in April 2024. The investigation concluded that dumped Chinese imports posed a clearly foreseeable and imminent threat of injury to EU producers.

Chinese PET subsequently dropped to seventh place in the EU supplier ranking.

However, total EU27 PET imports declined only modestly in 2024 before reaching a record level in 2025. The measures significantly reduced China's participation, but other origins largely replaced the lost volumes.

Vietnam Gains Ground Before Türkiye Takes the Lead

Vietnam became the EU's largest PET supplier in 2023 and maintained that position in 2024.

The European Commission opened an anti-dumping investigation into Vietnamese PET in May 2025, with imports subject to registration from July. PET Europe withdrew its complaint on May 1, 2026, and the Commission formally ended the investigation on June 23 after finding no indication that terminating the case would conflict with the Union interest.

By that time, Türkiye had moved ahead of Vietnam to become the EU's largest external PET supplier. The investigation ended less than three months before reports emerged about a possible safeguard initiative covering a wider range of origins.

Egypt has also become increasingly important. It moved from seventh place among suppliers in 2021 to third in 2022 and remained among the top four suppliers during the following years.

Safeguards Could Affect More Origins

The repeated shift in sourcing helps explain the interest in safeguard measures. Unlike anti-dumping actions that generally target specific countries, safeguards can apply more broadly to imports from multiple origins.

Depending on the final structure, EU free-trade partners and countries benefiting from preferential arrangements could also potentially be affected unless they are excluded under the relevant agreement or final measure.

If tariff-rate quotas were introduced, suppliers such as Türkiye, Egypt, Vietnam and Pakistan could potentially face volume limits or additional duties above quota levels. The actual impact would depend on factors including the reference period, country allocations and any exemptions.

Such measures could limit import pressure on European producers, but they could also reduce sourcing flexibility for converters and make access to quota volumes more important.

Formal Investigation Would Be the Next Key Step

The current initiative remains at the reported proposal stage. A request to examine safeguards would not itself constitute a formal investigation, and an investigation would not automatically lead to protective measures.

The European Commission would need to determine whether increased imports had caused, or threatened to cause, serious injury to EU producers and whether any proposed action would be in the Union interest.

Key developments to monitor include whether the Commission formally launches an investigation, which PET grades would be included, the reference period selected and whether preferential trading partners receive exemptions.

The broader trade data show that previous country-specific actions have changed the origins supplying the EU without reversing the overall increase in PET imports. The emerging safeguard discussion therefore centers on whether the EU should address broader import pressure rather than continue responding to individual supplier countries.

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