The European Commission has set definitive anti-dumping duties on terephthalic acid from Korea (Rep.) and Mexico. The move follows an investigation that found the imports were being sold in the EU at unfairly low prices, hurting the bloc's own producers.
The European Commission’s (EU) Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security imposed definitive anti-dumping duties on imports from Korea (Rep.) ranging from 6.1% to 13.3%, while imports from Mexico are subject to a duty of 24.1%.
The imposition of the definitive duties follows an investigation which found that imports of terephthalic acid from Korea and Mexico were entering the EU at dumped prices. This is causing injury to the EU’s own industry, which directly employs around 600 people in Belgium, Poland and Spain.
Terephthalic acid is a strategic commodity for the EU, because it is a raw material used to produce polyethene terephthalate (also known as ‘PET’). In turn, PET is used to make plastic bottles, food packaging and fabrics – products with a role to play in helping the EU meet its recycling and sustainability targets. The EU market for terephthalic acid is worth around EUR 1.4 billion.
This announcement was made by the Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security on 10 August 2026.
