European Union mposes tariffs on Chinese steel cylinder imports
- jakubvecerka
- Aug 5
- 2 min read
Updated: Aug 7
BRUSSELS/OSTRAVA 5. 8. 2025 – European manufacturers of high-pressure steel cylinders will compete on a level playing field with Chinese competitors in the European Union markets for the first time in many years. The European Commission, at the initiative of a coalition of major seamless steel cylinder manufacturers who are members of the European Cylinder Manufacturers Association (ECMA), has announced duties on extremely cheap high-pressure steel cylinders from China used for compressed and liquefied gases.
The duties are set in a structured manner from 63.2 to 118 percent, depending on the extent to which manufacturers and importers have committed dumping. The duties will be applied from tomorrow (6. 8. 2025).
“ECMA welcomes the announcement from the European Commission and thanks all those involving in achieving this result. For many years, our Members have been subject to unfair competition from cylinders imported from China that are sold at prices that are significantly below the material and energy costs of European producers and so distorting healthy market competition. This is an important step in in levelling the playing field which has been distorted for too long by Chinese exporters.” said ECMA Secretary General Andrew Webb.
Link to the European Commission’s decision in Czech:
These are cylinders of Chinese origin that have been massively introduced into the EU market in recent years at clearly dumped prices, often lower than the production costs of European cylinders manufacturers. This is also associated with poor quality, low safety and technical deficiencies leading to accidents. In the vast majority of cases, products from China do not meet the strict standards that European manufacturers adhere to – from design features, through testing for various conditions of use, environmental indicators to compliance with labor laws and social responsibility rules.
Customs duties are now imposed on Chinese steel cylinders of all diameters and volumes, with or without threads, regardless of the internal coating or plating, regardless of the external surface finish and shape, with or without an inserted gas membrane, regardless of other equipment and whether or not they are already bundled.
The European Commission was investigating the apparent unfair competition based on the initiative of the group of European companies Cylinders Holding a.s. (CZ), Eurocylinder Systems AG (Germany), Faber Industrie S.p.A (Italy), Dalmine S.p.A (Italy) and Worthington Cylinders GmbH (Austria) from December 2024. The investigation has shown significant dumping practices by Chinese steel cylinder manufacturers on EU markets.
European cylinder manufacturers have previously emphasized that they are the ones who keep prices stable, while continuing to invest, innovate and take measures with regard to global climate developments. In the case of a European product, customers are also not at risk of the risks and economic impacts of supply chain disruptions, as was the case with purchases from China.
“We meet customer requirements not only in Europe, but all over the world. In recent years, we have invested significantly in fundamentally increasing the safety and efficiency of high-pressure seamless steel cylinders, while at the same time focusing on reducing costs for customers. For example, by extending the service life and non-destructive testing of our cylinders,” said Cylinders Holding CEO Jan Světlík.
According to representatives of Czech, German, Italian and Austrian companies, the capacity of European producers is sufficient to cover any potential shortfalls in Chinese imports to the EU.
