Brussels, 20th November 2025 – The Greenwood Consortium welcomes the European Commission’s Regulation to impose definitive anti-dumping duties of up to 86.8% on imports of hardwood plywood imported from China, effective from tomorrow.
All Chinese hardwood plywood entering the EU will now face an 86.8% duty, except for one cooperating exporter, which will be subject to a 43.2% rate. Crucially, the definitive duties are significantly higher than the provisional measures imposed earlier this year – reflecting a more accurate assessment of the sheer scale of dumping by Chinese producers that caused injury to the EU producers.i EU industry views the outcome as a necessary correction to restore fair competition with China, the world’s largest hardwood plywood supplier.
A distinguishing feature of this case is the early and deliberate shift by Chinese exporters to reclassify hardwood plywood as “softwood plywood” by applying an extremely thin and superficial face layer, that in some cases can even be peeled off, and that is designed solely to obtain a different customs classification, thus to avoid EU anti-dumping duties. The Commission recognised this pattern already at the provisional stage earlier this summer and ordered specific monitoring of these imports – paving the way for swifter follow-up enforcement actions.
These developments follow the Commission’s unusual Special Alert of March 2025ii, warning of circumvention risks involving Russian and Belarusian birch wood banned in the EU but channelled through China with false or misleading papers. Similar concerns have emerged outside the EU: for example, several major UK market operators have flagged sharp increases in suspicious birch plywood imports via third countries, potentially involving Russian-origin material prohibited under UK sanctions.
“The EC’s move shows Brussels can act fast — even weeks ahead of its own deadline — when China distorts the market. The Commission’s final calculations uncovered even higher levels of dumping, confirming what European producers have long warned.
But China is already trying to dodge the rules. Exporters are disguising hardwood plywood as ‘softwood’ by adding an ultra-thin cosmetic layer solely to fool customs. It’s the same product, sold to the same customers, used in the same applications — just relabelled to avoid anti-dumping duties.
Shipments of this fake softwood plywood are now surging and have already hit the monthly export levels we used to see for hardwood plywood. And they appear to be gearing up to send these products via other markets that are not hit with tariffs, like Vietnam. Europe will need to stay vigilant against all circumvention of its will.”
Established in 2023, as an ad hoc Consortium by leading EU producers of hardwood plywood from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Hungary, Latvia, Italy, Poland, and Spain, Greenwood leverages trade policy instruments to further its commitment to fostering a level playing field that ensures fairness and sustainability in the EU hardwood plywood industry.
1. The Commission’s Regulation confirms the investigation’s findings: Chinese plywood was sold in the EU below the cost of production, causing considerable damage to the sustainable producers in the EU. Between 2021 and the investigation period, imports rose nearly 20%, increasing China’s EU market share by 13 percentage points. During the same period, EU producers saw production fall 11% and sales drop 12%, leaving them unable even to recover basic manufacturing costs. The Commission has therefore concluded that imposing strong duties is clearly in the EU’s interest.
2. EU sanctions alert: High risk of circumvention – Import of plywood. https://finance.ec.europa.eu/publications/eu-sanctions-alert-high-risk-circumvention-import-plywood_en