LegalizeCommission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1330 of 10 July 2025 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty and definitively collecting the provisional duty imposed on imports of lysine originating in the People’s Republic of China
(192) With regard to the possibility of users to switch, if need be, from dry to liquid or vice versa, the Commission found that data from FeedInfo show that the consumption of liquid lysine was much higher in 2021 than in the following years (22). As China does not export liquid lysine to the EU, this evolution can be attributed to the loss of quantities and market share of non-Chinese third countries and the Union industry. Feedinfo also shows an increase in liquid lysine consumption between 2023 and 2024, which suggests that a number of users are already able to change between dry and liquid lysine. Furthermore, the complainant submitted data from specialised market intelligence proving that lysine HCl imports from non-Chinese third countries increased significantly in 2024 (from 207 tonnes in Q1 to 3 262 tonnes in Q4), following the initiation of the investigation, while no lysine HCl was exported by the non-Chinese third countries in the period considered (23). Therefore, the Commission concluded that the animal feed producers will continue having both options of dry and liquid lysine even with a decrease of imports from China.
(193) Secondly, the Commission noted that the reason that liquid lysine was the most important product type imported in the Union from other non-Chinese countries in the period considered was not related to the inability of third country producers to produce or sell lysine HCl or lysine sulphate, but due to the overwhelming presence on the market of Chinese imports of lysine HCl and lysine sulphate, resulting in price depression. With measures imposed, it will be attractive again for third country producers to sell products other than liquid lysine in the Union. In a standard manufacturing method, the lysine producers obtain liquid lysine first, which is subsequently transformed into lysine HCl or lysine sulphate by a drying equipment. It is therefore a simple process for the lysine producers to transform liquid lysine to powdered form of lysine. The Commission rejected the argument.
(194) In the absence of other comments on the interest of users, recitals 341 to 347 of the provisional Regulation were confirmed.
(195) CESFAC and Vall Companys questioned whether Eurolysine’s sales volumes on the Union market will rise following the implementation of the anti-dumping measures. CESFAC and Vall Companys expressed concerns that Eurolysine, following acquisition by Group Avril, will sell significant volumes of lysine for captive use to support Avril’s own animal feed business, Sanders, and will not sell lysine supply to its competitors in the animal feed sector.
(196) The complainant rejected that there is any risk that Eurolysine’s takeover by Groupe Avril would leads to any foreclosure of lysine supply on the Union market. It underlined that Eurolysine remains an independent business unit within Groupe Avril, which moreover is not a vertically integrated feed company and that therefore, from Eurolysine’s perspective, Sanders is a potential customer such as Vall Companys and any other. It also noted that Sanders is, moreover, not buying significant volumes of lysine. The Commission welcomed complainant’s assurance that Union industry’s lysine will not be reserved for a captive use and rejected the claim on that basis.
(197) CESAC claimed that the renewal of the duty-free autonomous tariff quotas for imports of lysine HCl and liquid lysine (tariff quota 0925 63) and imports of lysine sulphate (tariff quota 0929 25) by the Council (24) demonstrates that Eurolysine continues to produce insufficient quantities of lysine to supply the Union users, that EU users that produce animal feed and pharmaceuticals continue to depend upon lysine imports, and that it continues to be in the Union’s interest to ensure an adequate supply of lysine and avoid any market disturbances. CESFAC alleged that the provisional anti-dumping duties are in conflict with the duty-free autonomous tariff quotas, and therefore of Union interest.
(198) The Commission noted that the current quotas are periodically revisited by the Council in order to ensure that their continued existence does not conflict with any other Union policy. As the investigation was ongoing at the time of the approval of the duty-free autonomous tariff quotas and the definitive determinations were not reached yet, the Commission does not consider the provisional anti-dumping duties in conflict with the duty-free autonomous tariff quotas for lysine.
(199) Furthermore, the Commission noted the Joint statement of Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and France about the European chemicals industry (25) calling for an EU Critical Chemicals Act at the Competitiveness Council on 12 March 2025 (26), classifying lysine among the critical chemicals. Considering that eight Member States directly mention lysine as a critical chemical for the Union to protect, the Commission weighted their position in the assessment of the Union interest. The Commission also considered that, in view of significant overproduction in China, maintaining Union production of lysine contributes to the economic security of the Union. The argument that anti-dumping duties conflict with the duty-free autonomous tariff quotas was rejected.
(200) In the absence of other comments on Union interest, recital 348 of the provisional Regulation was confirmed.
(201) In view of the conclusions reached with regard to dumping, injury, causation, level of measures and Union interest, and in accordance with Article 9(4) of the basic Regulation, definitive anti-dumping measures should be imposed in order to prevent further injury being caused to the Union industry by the dumped imports of the product concerned.
(202) Following final disclosure, Eppen alleged that due to the limited source of supply and in particular the insufficient supply from the Union industry, Union users will have to continue importing lysine from China and pay the anti-dumping duty, which will result in increased costs for animal feed producers and farmers. Eppen submitted that a Minimum Import Price, or fixed duties per tonne, would be a more appropriate form of the anti-dumping measures.
(203) The claim was not substantiated and Eppen failed to explain why a fixed duty would be more appropriate. In addition the Commission underlined that fixed duties are unlikely to constitute an effective remedy for goods that are subject to significant price variations over time. Therefore, the claim was rejected.
(205) The individual company anti-dumping duty rates specified in this Regulation were established on the basis of the findings of this investigation. Therefore, they reflect the situation found during this investigation in respect to these companies. These duty rates are thus exclusively applicable to imports of the product under investigation originating in the country concerned and produced by the named legal entities. Imports of the product concerned manufactured by any other company not specifically mentioned in the operative part of this Regulation, including entities related to those specifically mentioned, cannot benefit from these rates and should be subject to the duty rate applicable to ‘all other imports originating in the People’s Republic of China’.
(206) A company may request the application of these individual anti-dumping duty rates if it changes subsequently the name of its entity. The request must be addressed to the Commission (27). The request must contain all the relevant information enabling to demonstrate that the change does not affect the right of the company to benefit from the duty rate which applies to it. If the change of name of the company does not affect its right to benefit from the duty rate which applies to it, a regulation about the change of name will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
(207) To minimise the risks of circumvention due to the difference in duty rates, special measures are needed to ensure the proper application of the individual anti-dumping duties. The application of individual anti-dumping duties is only applicable upon presentation of a valid commercial invoice to the customs authorities of the Member States. The invoice must conform to the requirements set out in Article 1(3) of this Regulation. Until such invoice is presented, imports should be subject to the anti-dumping duty applicable to ‘all other imports originating in the People’s Republic of China’.
(208) While presentation of this invoice is necessary for the customs authorities of the Member States to apply the individual rates of anti-dumping duty to imports, it is not the only element to be taken into account by the customs authorities. Indeed, even if presented with an invoice meeting all the requirements set out in Article 1(3) of this Regulation, the customs authorities of Member States should carry out their usual checks and may, like in all other cases, require additional documents (shipping documents, etc.) for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of the particulars contained in the declaration and ensure that the subsequent application of the rate of duty is justified, in compliance with customs law.
(209) Should the exports by one of the companies benefiting from lower individual duty rates increase significantly in volume, in particular after the imposition of the measures concerned, such an increase in volume could be considered as constituting in itself a change in the pattern of trade due to the imposition of measures within the meaning of Article 13(1) of the basic Regulation. In such circumstances, an anti-circumvention investigation may be initiated, provided that the conditions for doing so are met. This investigation may, inter alia, examine the need for the removal of individual duty rate(s) and the consequent imposition of a country-wide duty.
(210) To ensure a proper enforcement of the anti-dumping duties, the anti-dumping duty for all other imports originating in the People’s Republic of China should apply not only to the non-cooperating exporting producers in this investigation, but also to the producers which did not have exports to the Union during the investigation period.
(211) Exporting producers that did not export the product concerned to the Union during the investigation period should be able to request the Commission to be made subject to the anti-dumping duty rate for cooperating companies not included in the sample. The Commission should grant such request provided that three conditions are met. The new exporting producer would have to demonstrate that: (i) it did not export the product concerned to the Union during the IP; (ii) it is not related to an exporting producer that did so; and (iii) has exported the product concerned thereafter or has entered into an irrevocable contractual obligation to do so in substantial quantities.
(212) In view of the dumping margins found and given the level of the injury caused to the Union industry, the amounts secured by way of provisional anti-dumping duties imposed by the provisional Regulation, should be definitively collected up to the levels established under the present Regulation.
(213) As mentioned in Section 1.2, the Commission made imports of the product under investigation subject to registration.
(214) During the definitive stage of the investigation, the data collected in the context of the registration was assessed. The Commission analysed whether the criteria under Article 10(4) of the basic Regulation were met for the retroactive collection of definitive duties.
(215) Pursuant to Article 10(4)(d) of the basic Regulation, there needs to be, ‘in addition to the level of imports which caused injury during the investigation period, a further substantial rise in imports which, in the light of its timing and volume and other circumstances, is likely to seriously undermine the remedial effect of the definitive anti-dumping duty to be applied’.
(216) For this analysis, the Commission first compared the monthly average import volumes of the product concerned during the investigation period with the monthly average import volumes during the period from the month following the initiation of this investigation until the last full month preceding the imposition of provisional measures. The Commission established an increase of Chinese imports by 32 %. Also when comparing the monthly average import volumes of the product concerned during the investigation period with the monthly average import volumes during the period from the month following the initiation of this investigation up to and including the month in which provisional measures were imposed, the Commission observed an increase of Chinese imports, by 43 %.
(217) However, since the initiation of the current investigation, prices of Chinese imports have increased, and they were 9 %-15 % above average prices in the investigation period. The Commission has no information on the file that in spite of such price increase the Union industry would be additionally injured.
(218) On that basis, and in particular in view of the significant price increase of Chinese imports since the initiation of the investigation, the Commission concluded that the conditions as set out in Article 10(4) of the basic Regulation for the retroactive application of the definitive anti-dumping duty were not met.
(219) In view of Article 109 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council (28), when an amount is to be reimbursed following a judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the interest to be paid should be the rate applied by the European Central Bank to its principal refinancing operations, as published in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union on the first calendar day of each month.
(220) The Committee established by Article 15(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 did not deliver opinion on the measures provided for in this Regulation,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
A definitive anti-dumping duty is imposed on imports of lysine and its esters, salts thereof, and feed additives, consisting of dry weight basis of 68 % or more, but not more than 80 % of L-lysine sulphate, and not more than 32 % of other components such as carbohydrates and other amino acids, currently falling under CN codes ex 2309 90 31 , ex 2309 90 96 , and 2922 41 00 (TARIC codes: 2309 90 31 51, 2309 90 31 59, 2309 90 31 61, 2309 90 31 69, 2309 90 96 51, 2309 90 96 59, 2309 90 96 61, 2309 90 96 69) and originating in the People’s Republic of China.
The rate of the definitive anti-dumping duty applicable to the net, free-at-Union-frontier price, before duty, of the products described in paragraph 1 and produced by the companies listed below, shall be as follows:
The application of the individual duty rates specified for the companies mentioned in paragraph 2 shall be conditional upon presentation to the Member States’ customs authorities of a valid commercial invoice, on which shall appear a declaration dated and signed by an official of the entity issuing such invoice, identified by name and function, drafted as follows: ‘I, the undersigned, certify that the (volume in tonnes) of lysine sold for export to the European Union covered by this invoice was manufactured by (company name and address) (TARIC additional code) in the People’s Republic of China. I declare that the information provided in this invoice is complete and correct.’ Until such invoice is presented, the duty applicable to all other imports originating in the People’s Republic of China shall apply.
Unless otherwise specified, the provisions in force concerning customs duties shall apply.
Article 2
The amounts secured by way of the provisional anti-dumping duty under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/74 shall be definitively collected. The amounts secured in excess of the definitive rates of the anti-dumping duty shall be released.
Article 3
Article 1 (2) may be amended to add new exporting producers from the People’s Republic of China and make them subject to the appropriate weighted average anti-dumping duty rate for cooperating companies not included in the sample. A new exporting producer shall provide evidence that:
(a) it did not export the goods described in Article 1(1) during the period of investigation (1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023);
(b) it is not related to an exporter or producer subject to the measures imposed by this Regulation, and which could have cooperated in the original investigation; and
(c) it has either actually exported the product concerned or has entered into an irrevocable contractual obligation to export a significant quantity to the Union after the end of the period of investigation.
Article 4
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 10 July 2025.
For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN
(1) OJ L 176, 30.6.2016, p. 21, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/1036/oj.
(2) Notice of initiation of an anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports of lysine originating in the People’s Republic of China (OJ C, C/2024/3265, 23.5.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/3265/oj).
(3) Metex Noovistago was acquired by Group Avril and, on 16 July 2024, changed its legal name to Eurolysine.
(4) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2732 of 24 October 2024 making imports of lysine originating in the People’s Republic of China subject to registration (OJ L, 2024/2732, 25.10.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/2732/oj).
(5) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/74 of 13 January 2025 imposing a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of lysine originating in the People’s Republic of China (OJ L, 2025/74, 14.1.2025, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2025/74/oj).
(6) Anhui BBCA BIOCHEMICAL Co., LTD, Dongxiao Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Heilongjiang Eppen Biotech Co., Ltd and Meihua Holdings Group Co. Ltd.
(7) Jin Niu, Xu Chen, Hei-Zhao Lin, Chun-Hou Li, Kai-Chang Wu, Yong-Jian Liu1 & LiXia Tian, ‘Comparison of L-lysine HCl and L-lysine sulphate in the feed of Penaeus monodon and re-evaluation of dietary lysine requirement for P. monodon ’ (2017), 48 Aquaculture Research, Volume 134, available at Comparison of L-lysine·HCl and L-lysine sulphate in the feed of Penaeus monodon and re-evaluation of dietary lysine requirement for P. monodon – Niu – 2017 – Aquaculture Research – Wiley Online Library.
(8) See footnote 2.
(9) Meihua Bio Plans Acquisition of Kyowa Hakko Bio’s Key Assets – HPACHINA. Also, https://uk.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MEIHUA-HOLDINGS-GROUP-CO--7795036/news/MeiHua-Holdings-Group-Co-Ltd-agreed-to-acquire-Amino-acid-and-Human-Milk-Oligosaccharide-businesses-48448122/.
(10) Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying down the Union Customs Code (OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2013/952/oj).
(11) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1959 of 17 July 2024 imposing a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of erythritol originating in the People’s Republic of China (OJ L, 2024/1959, 19.7.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/1959/oj).
(12) Regulation (EU) 2015/755 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2015 on common rules for imports from certain third countries (OJ L 123, 19.5.2015, p. 33, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2015/755/oj).
(13) t25.004917.
(14) See for instance Judgment of 11 September 2024, Sveza Verkhnyaya Sinyachikha NAO and Others v European Commission, T-2/22, ECLI:EU:T:2024:615, paragraph 57.
(15) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/58 of 15 January 2025 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of certain pneumatic tyres, new or retreaded, of rubber, of a kind used for buses or lorries, with a load index exceeding 121 originating in the People’s Republic of China following an expiry review pursuant to Article 11(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L, 2025/58, 16.1.2025, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2025/58/oj), recitals 262 and 269-271.
(*1) The specialised market intelligence is stated in recital 237 of the provisional Regulation.’
(16) Judgment of 21 June 2023, Guangdong Haomei New Materials Co. Ltd and Guangdong King Metal Light Alloy Technology Co. Ltd v European Commission, T-326/21, ECLI:EU:T:2023:347.
(17) t24.011363.
(18) See for a similar interpretation TiO2 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1923 of 10 July 2024 imposing a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of titanium dioxide originating in the People’s Republic of China (OJ L, 2024/1923, 11.7.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/1923/oj).
(20) t25.004370.
(21) Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2023 on the making available on the Union market and the export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation and repealing Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 (OJ L 150, 9.6.2023, p. 206, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1115/oj) entered into force on 29 June 2023. The rules begin to apply for medium and large operators and traders as of 30 December 2025, and for micro and small enterprises as of 30 June 2026.
(22) Monthly Spanish consumption of liquid lysine (in tonnes of lysine HCl equivalent) provided by the complainant based on export statistics and Eurolysine sales:
— 2021: 4 500-6 500 tonnes;
— 2022: 4 000-6 000 tonnes;
— 2023: 2 500-4 500 tonnes;
— 2024: 3 500-5 500 tonnes.
(23) t25.003212.
(24) Council Regulation (EU) 2024/3213 of 16 December 2024 amending Regulation (EU) 2021/2283 opening and providing for the management of autonomous tariff quotas of the Union for certain agricultural and industrial products: (OJ L, 2024/3213, 19.12.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/3213/oj).
(26) https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/compet/2025/03/12/. And related Briefing note on the alarming situation of the European chemicals industry, a strategic sector that needs a dedicated EU Critical Chemicals Act (https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-6901-2025-INIT/x/pdf).
(27) Email: TRADE-TDI-NAME-CHANGE-REQUESTS@ec.europa.eu; European Commission, Directorate-General for Trade, Directorate G, Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 170, 1040 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË.
(28) Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2024 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (OJ L, 2024/2509, 26.9.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/2509/oj).
Reading this document does not replace reading the official text published in the Official Journal of the European Union. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies arising from the conversion of the original to this format.
This text is published under EUR-Lex's own terms of reuse, not a Legalize or public-domain licence.
EUR-Lex
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
© European Union, https://eur-lex.europa.eu — Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the European Union). Reused under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. Only EU legislation published in the printed Official Journal of the European Union is deemed authentic; consolidated texts are reproduced here for documentation purposes and have been reformatted to Markdown.