EU weighs PET, epoxy resin and glass fibre import curbs as chemicals crisis deepens

European governments are preparing to push for broad import restrictions covering selected chemicals and plastics as policymakers confront what industry groups describe as a structural competitiveness crisis across the continent’s chemical manufacturing base. France, Italy and potentially Germany are considering requests for European Union safeguard investigations involving polyethylene terephthalate, epoxy resins and glass fibres.

The proposed mechanism would be significantly broader than conventional anti-dumping duties because safeguards can impose quotas and additional tariffs on imports from virtually all trading partners rather than targeting only a specific country. China is the principal competitive concern behind the discussion, but suppliers from countries with European Union free-trade agreements could also be affected if the bloc ultimately introduces broad measures.

Why is the European Union considering new restrictions on chemical and plastics imports?

European chemical producers are being squeezed from several directions simultaneously. Domestic demand remains weak, energy remains substantially more expensive than in competing regions and Chinese producers have added enormous manufacturing capacity capable of supplying global markets at aggressive prices.

United States tariffs create another problem. When Chinese or other Asian exports encounter barriers in the American market, more material can be redirected toward Europe, increasing competitive pressure on European factories.

France and Italy therefore want the European Commission to examine whether broad safeguards are justified. Germany, historically more cautious about trade restrictions involving China, has indicated that it is open to considering measures for selected chemical products.

That shift in Germany is especially significant because German industry has traditionally depended heavily on export markets and has often worried that protectionism could provoke retaliation.

Which products could face EU import quotas or safeguard tariffs?

The products under discussion include polyethylene terephthalate, commonly known as PET, along with epoxy resin and glass fibres.

PET is widely used in beverage bottles, packaging, textiles and industrial applications. Epoxy resins are used in coatings, construction materials, electronics, wind turbines and other industrial applications.

Glass fibres are important to automotive manufacturing, wind energy, construction, infrastructure, shipbuilding and defence.

This wide industrial footprint explains why policymakers need to proceed carefully. Protecting European resin or fibre producers can increase input costs for manufacturers further down the value chain.

A safeguard that helps one factory can therefore make another European manufacturer less competitive if it relies heavily on imported raw materials.

What is an EU safeguard and how is it different from anti-dumping tariffs?

The European Union already has more than 150 trade-defence measures covering products believed to benefit from unfair dumping or subsidies. Most are narrowly targeted at defined products from particular countries.

Safeguards work differently. They are designed for situations where rapidly rising imports threaten serious injury to domestic industry even when every shipment has not necessarily been proven to involve unfair pricing.

A typical safeguard allows imports up to a specified quota and imposes additional tariffs above that level.

The controversial part is that safeguards generally apply across trading partners. Reuters reported that potential measures could therefore affect countries with European Union free-trade agreements, including Japan and Canada.

That broad reach explains why Brussels historically used the mechanism sparingly. The bloc currently has only limited safeguard regimes compared with its much larger portfolio of targeted anti-dumping measures.

How serious is Europe’s chemical industry crisis in 2026?

The European Chemical Industry Council has described the sector’s competitive position as deeply challenging rather than undergoing a normal cyclical downturn. In the first quarter of 2026, European Union chemical production fell 3.2% year over year, while plant utilisation remained around 74%, historically weak for the industry.

Demand remains soft and investment has been constrained, but energy is the most persistent structural problem.

European natural gas prices during the first four months of 2026 were about 3.3 times United States levels, according to the European Chemical Industry Council. That disadvantage is particularly damaging for basic chemicals and polymers where energy represents a substantial share of manufacturing costs.

The organisation said chemical exports from the European Union fell €4.6 billion, or 12.4%, during the first quarter, while imports declined €4.8 billion. The trade surplus improved slightly only because imports contracted faster than exports, which the group said reflected weak demand rather than renewed competitiveness.

Why are BASF, LANXESS and Wacker Chemie cutting jobs?

Major publicly traded European chemical groups including BASF SE, LANXESS Aktiengesellschaft and Wacker Chemie AG have been restructuring operations as high costs and weak demand undermine profitability. Reuters noted that companies across the sector have announced thousands of job reductions.

The pressure is most acute in commodity and energy-intensive chemicals, where a European factory competes against plants operating with significantly cheaper gas and power.

Specialty chemicals can sometimes defend margins through intellectual property, formulation expertise or highly specialised customer relationships. Commodity producers have fewer protections because customers can more easily substitute equivalent material from a lower-cost supplier.

Investor sentiment toward European chemical companies consequently depends increasingly on restructuring, asset closures and evidence that utilisation rates can recover. Protection against import surges could improve domestic pricing power, but it would not eliminate the underlying European energy disadvantage.

Could safeguards actually save European chemical factories?

They could provide temporary relief if imported material is depressing prices below levels at which European plants can operate sustainably. Reducing excess import volumes may allow producers to improve utilisation and recover part of their fixed costs.

However, trade barriers cannot solve every underlying problem.

If European electricity and natural gas remain structurally more expensive than in the United States, Middle East or parts of Asia, producers will still face a disadvantage when competing globally. Weak demand would also remain even if imports were restricted.

Safeguards are therefore better understood as breathing room rather than a complete industrial strategy.

Longer-term competitiveness requires cheaper energy, more efficient regulation, stronger domestic demand and sufficient investment incentives to modernise European facilities.

Why could import restrictions create problems for carmakers, wind companies and packaging manufacturers?

Many of the industries lobbying Brussels to protect manufacturing also consume the chemicals under discussion.

An automobile company uses resins, fibres and coatings. Wind turbines require epoxy systems and composite materials. Packaging manufacturers depend heavily on polymers such as PET.

If tariffs substantially increase material prices, downstream manufacturers may face higher costs precisely when they are also competing against finished products imported from lower-cost economies.

European policymakers therefore need to determine where protection produces a net benefit across the entire value chain rather than merely shifting pressure from raw-material producers to industrial customers.

The European chemical association itself has urged the Commission to consider these differences carefully rather than automatically imposing a blanket measure across the sector.

What happens next before Europe can impose PET, epoxy resin or glass fibre safeguards?

European Union member states must formally request safeguard investigations. The European Commission would then examine whether imports have increased sufficiently and whether domestic producers have suffered serious injury.

Any final measure would require political support. Reuters reported that adoption would need a qualified majority representing at least 15 EU countries and 65% of the bloc’s population.

That threshold once appeared difficult, but the political climate has changed. France and Italy favour stronger trade defences, while Germany is increasingly receptive as its own industrial sector experiences deeper pressure.

The debate therefore extends well beyond three chemical products. Europe is deciding whether the trade model that supported its industry for decades remains viable when the United States and China are both using more aggressive industrial and trade policies.

If PET, epoxy resin and glass fibre safeguards move forward, they could become a template for how Brussels responds to similar import pressure across other industrial sectors.