Trade
EU Tightens Trade Scrutiny on Chinese Steel Wire Rod and Welded Mesh Imports
Oct 21, 2026 · Brynick Newsroom, Ningbo
The European Commission has opened an expiry review of the anti-dumping duties currently applied to imports of wire rod originating in China. The review was initiated following a request submitted on June 30, 2026 by the European Steel Association (EUROFER) on behalf of EU wire rod producers, and was announced in Notice C/2026/5244, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on October 12, 2026. According to the notice, the investigation will examine whether the expiry of the existing measures would lead to a continuation or recurrence of dumping and injury to the EU industry. The review covers the period from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 for the dumping assessment, with injury trends examined from January 1, 2023. Interested parties have 37 days from publication of the notice to submit comments, and the investigation is expected to conclude within 12 months and in any case no later than 15 months.
The products under review are hot-rolled bars and rods in irregularly wound coils made of iron, non-alloy steel or alloy steel, excluding stainless steel — a category closely related to the raw material used in wire mesh and wire-formed storage products such as partitions, containers, and decking. EUROFER argued that Chinese producers still hold unused capacity and that lifting the measures could lead to significant import volumes at dumped prices.
The wire rod review comes just weeks after the Commission adopted Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2022 on September 10, 2026, requiring EU customs authorities to register imports of welded steel mesh originating in China and Türkiye. The registration covers grids, mesh, nets and fencing made from plain wires welded at the intersection points, whether coated or uncoated and presented in rolls or not, and will remain in force for nine months. Registration does not itself impose duties, but it allows any definitive anti-dumping duties ultimately resulting from the ongoing investigation — launched on June 3, 2026 following a complaint by the European Association of Welded Steel Mesh Producers — to be collected retroactively on registered imports. In its complaint, the EU industry estimated dumping margins of 26–73 percent for China and 44–51 percent for Türkiye; these figures are estimates, not final determinations.
Together, the two measures signal that European trade policy will continue to shape the cost structure of steel wire products for buyers in the EU. The backdrop is a subdued global market: in its Short Range Outlook published on October 12, 2026, the World Steel Association forecast global steel demand at 1,722 million metric tons in 2026, effectively flat versus 2025, with Chinese steel demand expected to contract by 2 percent amid a continued property downturn, before modest growth resumes in 2027.
Sources: EUROMETAL, "EU to review anti-dumping measures on Chinese wire rod" (October 2026); EUROMETAL, "EU registers steel mesh imports from Türkiye and China" (September 2026); World Steel Association Short Range Outlook (October 2026), via EUROMETAL.
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