Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1342 of 11 July 2025 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty and definitively collecting the provisional duty imposed on imports of multilayered wood flooring originating in the People’s Republic of China

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Union (1) (‘the basic Regulation’) and in particular Article 9(4) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) On 16 May 2024, the European Commission (‘the Commission’) initiated an anti-dumping investigation with regard to imports of multilayered wood flooring (MWF) originating in the People’s Republic of China (‘the country concerned’, ‘the PRC’, or ‘China’) on the basis of Article 5 of the basic Regulation. It published a Notice of Initiation in the Official Journal of the European Union (2) (‘the Notice of Initiation’).

(2) The Commission initiated the investigation following a complaint lodged on 4 April 2024 by the European Parquet Federation (‘FEP’ or ‘the complainant’). The complaint was made on behalf of the Union industry of MWF in the sense of Article 5(4) of the basic Regulation. The complaint contained evidence of dumping and of resulting material injury that was sufficient to justify the initiation of the investigation.

(3) The Commission made imports of the product concerned subject to registration by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2733 (3) (‘the registration Regulation’).

(4) In accordance with Article 19a of the basic Regulation, on 18 December 2024, the Commission provided parties with a summary of the proposed duties and details about the calculation of the dumping margins and the margins adequate to remove the injury to the Union industry. Interested parties were invited to comment on the accuracy of the calculations within three working days. The comments received were addressed in recital 390 of the provisional Regulation.

(5) On 15 January 2025, the Commission imposed provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of MWF originating in the People’s Republic of China by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/78 (4) (‘the provisional Regulation’).

(7) The parties who so requested were granted an opportunity to be heard. Hearings took place with Forest, Fusong, Jinfa, the CNFPIA and FEP.

(8) The Commission continued to seek and verify all the information it deemed necessary for its final findings. When reaching its definitive findings, the Commission considered the comments submitted by interested parties and revised its provisional conclusions where appropriate.

(9) The Commission informed all interested parties of the essential facts and considerations on the basis of which it intended to impose a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of MWF originating in China (‘definitive disclosure’). All parties were granted a period within which they could make comments on the definitive disclosure.

(10) Following the definitive disclosure, several parties filed written submissions making their views known. These parties were: Amorim, Alliance of MWF Importers (‘AUMI’), Barth, Corà Domenico & Figli Spa (‘Cora Domenico’), CNFPIA, FEP, Holz-Richter GmbH (‘Holz-Richter’), Forest, Fusong, Jinfa, Lovelin of London Ltd (‘Lovelin’), MEFO Floor, Puderbach and Thede & Witte.

(11) Parties who so requested were also granted an opportunity to be heard. Hearings took place with Amorim, Barth, CNFPIA, Holz-Richter, Forest, Fusong, Jinfa and Thede & Witte.

(12) In the absence of comments on the initiation of the investigation after the imposition of provisional measures, recitals 20 to 28 of the provisional Regulation were confirmed.

(13) In the absence of comments concerning the sampling of Union producers, importers and exporting producers in China, the Commission confirmed the conclusions set out in recitals 6 to 12 of the provisional Regulation.

(14) In the absence of comments concerning the investigation period (‘IP’) and the period considered, the Commission confirmed the conclusions set out in recital 19 of the provisional Regulation.

(15) In the absence of any comments concerning the product under investigation, the product concerned and the like product, the Commission confirmed the conclusions set out in recitals 29 to 33 of the provisional Regulation.

(16) In the absence of comments on the existence of significant distortions in the country concerned, the Commission confirmed its findings and conclusions set out in recitals 43 to 137 of the provisional Regulation.

(17) Comments on the choice of the representative country and on the Commission’s calculation of benchmarks for SG&A and profit were provided by the European Parquet Federation (‘FEP’) and its members, acting as complainants in this investigation, four importers, namely Puderbach, Amorim, MEFO Floor and Barth, and by the three sampled exporting producers, i.e. the JINFA group, the Fusong group, and the Forest group.

(18) FEP supported the Commission’s choice of representative country and the calculation of benchmarks for SG&A and for profit, as set out in the provisional Regulation.

(19) Puderbach, Amorim, MEFO and Barth claimed that the Turkish companies used in the provisional Regulation to establish SG&A and profit are unsuitable because these companies do not produce the product under investigation. Puderbach, Amorim, MEFO and Barth also stated that there are companies in South East Asia and in Europe (non-EU) which have not been considered by the Commission.

(20) The Commission noted that none of these parties identified any specific companies in their respective submissions, or any specific countries where companies producing MWF with readily available financial data might be found, neither did they propose any other method to establish SG&A and profit. Therefore, the claims were rejected.

(21) The JINFA group and the Fusong group claimed that Türkiye is not an appropriate representative country, in particular in comparison to Malaysia. Therefore, these parties argued that Malaysia should be used as the representative country instead of Türkiye.

(22) The Forest group claimed that the SG&A and profit calculated on the basis of data of the Turkish companies identified by the Commission are unreasonably high and that Malaysian producers should be used instead.

(23) All three sampled exporting producers stated that in case the Commission maintains the selection of Türkiye as the representative country, it should adjust downwards the benchmarks calculated for SG&A and for profit.

(24) The above claims and arguments of the sampled exporting producers are presented and addressed in more detail below.

(26) With respect to point (a) above, the Commission noted that contrary to what the parties suggest, the requirement for the representative country to have a similar level of economic development does not imply that all main economic indicators need to be at similar levels. The level of economic development of a country is generally assessed by its level of income, and for that purpose, the classification of the World Bank is a criterion that is well established in the Commission’s practice and confirmed by the Union courts (5). According to this classification, Türkiye and the PRC were both in the upper middle level income bracket for 2023, and therefore, they had a similar level of economic development, irrespective of their different inflation rates. In view of this, the respective claims were rejected.

(27) With respect to point (b) above, the Commission noted that the parties appear to conflate cost increases in nominal terms, which can indeed be attributed to inflation, with cost increases in real terms, which are attributable to other factors. In the case of both labour and electricity, there was an increase of cost in real terms for these factors from 2022 to 2023. The labour cost increases were largely a result of policy decisions of the Turkish government, including decisions adopted shortly before the 2023 presidential elections in the country (6). Similarly, cost increases in electricity followed similar trends in many other countries and were likely linked to the Russian military aggression against Ukraine. In any event, there is no evidence that these increases in real terms were caused by inflation. In fact, if there is a causal link, it would go in the opposite direction, that is, increase in real costs fuelling inflation, rather than the other way around. In view of these considerations, the respective claims were rejected.

(28) With respect to point (c) above, at the outset the Commission noted that the requirement for undistorted benchmarks for SG&A and profit in Article 2(6a)(a) of the basic Regulation should be placed in its appropriate legal context, that is, significant distortions as defined in Article 2(6a)(b) of the basic Regulation. In view of this, the Commission considered that the existence of inflation in a country does not automatically render financial data from that country distorted and unreasonable.

(29) The Commission also noted that there is no evidence of a clear link between inflation and high profitability, in particular for companies operating in manufacturing sectors, such as the MWF sector or the broader wood sector.

(30) In any event, as explained in recitals 46 and 47 below, the Commission accepted to use an alternative source of financial data for the establishment of an undistorted and reliable benchmark for SG&A and for profit for companies operating in the broader wood sector in Türkiye. This source is readily available and already includes an adjustment for inflation. Consequently, the Commission considered that point (c) is moot and the respective claims were rejected.

(32) With respect to point (a), the Commission observed that as explained in recital 162 of the provisional Regulation, the MWF sector is significantly more developed in Türkiye in comparison to Malaysia. The respective argument was therefore rejected.

(33) With respect to point (b), the Commission noted that its statement in the provisional Regulation on the nature of Unilin (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd’s activities are not speculative. In view of the fact that the company is part of a multinational group and its operations are focused on production, it has been confirmed (9) that Unilin (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd only sells its manufactured goods intragroup and does not currently engage in sales with independent parties. For this reason, certain SG&A functions, such as sales, marketing, research and development are to a large extent centralised, and their costs are not included and are not reflected in the company’s reported SG&A. Therefore, it is fully justified not to consider the financial data of this company for the establishment of benchmark for profit and for SG&A.

(34) Moreover, as regards Kim Teck Lee Timber Flooring Sdn. Bhd, the Commission clarified that it does not consider its levels of SG&A (18,5 %) and profit (8,8 %), both expressed as a percentage of goods sold, unreasonable as such. In view however of the highly specific and non-representative nature of the product produced by this company, the Commission does not consider it appropriate to rely exclusively on this company for the establishment of benchmarks for SG&A and for profit.

(35) The arguments related to point (b) were therefore rejected.

(36) With respect to point (c), for two out of the three companies, i.e. Dominant Enterprise Berhad and Hevea Board Berhad, the Commission found no evidence that these companies are indeed producers of MWF, nor did the Forest group provide any such evidence. Moreover, as the Forest group stated, their financial statements were either unavailable for the relevant period, or they showed losses. For the third company, i.e. KLK Hardwood Flooring Sdn Berhad, the Commission noted that the financial report submitted by the Forest group does not concern this company, but the group to which the company belongs, that is, the Kuala Lumber Kepong Berhad group. The group, which has a broad range of activities had an enormous consolidated revenue of about 5,1 billion USD in 2023 (ending 30 September 2023), with a positive profit. In comparison, for the same period, its flooring subsidiary, KLK Hardwood Flooring Sdn Berhad had according to ORBIS a revenue of about 16 million USD, and a negative profit. It is therefore clear that none of the above companies can be used for the establishment of undistorted and reasonable amount for SG&A and profit. The respective claims were therefore rejected.

(37) With respect to point (d), the Commission noted that Article 2(6a)(a) of the basic Regulation is not prescriptive as regards the criteria which should be used to consider an SG&A or profit margin as reasonable, leaving to the Commission a rather broad discretion. While indeed the respective margins in the Union or in the country concerned would not be as such appropriate as benchmarks, they can be an additional element to inform the assessment of whether benchmarks in possible representative countries are reasonable. The respective argument was therefore rejected.

(38) With respect to point (e), the Commission noted that, contrary to what was suggested by the parties, its approach in the provisional Regulation is not contradicted by its practice in other cases. Unlike the present case, in Grain-Oriented Flat Rolled Products from China, the issue was whether the requirement for a similar level of economic development should take a narrow interpretation to concern the specific industrial sector, or as the Commission maintained, it should concern the overall economic development of the country, as reflected in its classification by the World Bank. In case Alkyl Phosphate Esters from China, the issue was whether the allegedly low level of development of a sector in a possible representative country was in itself sufficient to outright dismiss that country, even if there were no other potential representative countries. In the present case, the fact that the MWF sector in Malaysia is underdeveloped called into question the relevance of the available financial data for the establishment of reasonable and undistorted benchmarks for SG&A and for profit. As regards the use of data from the broader wood sector in Türkiye, the Commission considered it likely that the broader wood sector operates in similar conditions as the MWF sector, for instance concerning cost of materials, labour costs, market demand, intensity of competition and technological development. In fact, the larger the MWF sector, the more likely such similarities become. In comparison to the many tens of companies producing MWF in Türkiye, the respective companies identified for Malaysia remain less than five. Moreover, exports of MWF from Türkiye remain significantly higher compared to Malaysia. In view of this, the Commission concluded that financial data from the broader wood sector in Türkiye could be used to establish a reasonable and undistorted benchmark for SG&A and for profit. In any case, Commission's previous practice is not binding as each case is assessed on its own merits. The respective arguments of the parties were therefore rejected.

(39) With respect to point (f), this is addressed in recital 47 below.

(41) As regards point (a) above, as explained in recitals 46 and 47 below, the Commission accepted to use an alternative source of financial data. Consequently, the claim concerning transport related costs in Orma’s financial report was rejected.

(42) As regards point (b) above, the Commission considered that while the separately disclosed item ‘net gain/loss of reporting on the net monetary position’ is linked to inflation, its exclusion cannot be considered an appropriate way to adjust profits for inflation. That is, it cannot be considered that by excluding this item, the resulting profits would represent the profits of the company in the scenario that there was low or no inflation. This is because inflation would also affect revenues and costs that are not included in this item, such as the (nominal) rise in costs of inputs and prices of products of the company.

(43) Similarly, as regards point (c) above, the Commission considered that the deduction of financial expenses, and in particular interest, would not result in the operating expenses that the company would have to incur in the absence of high inflation. This is because, the company would have to incur a level of financial expenses irrespective of inflation. Moreover, the way financial expenses are affected by inflation, in particular as a percentage of the cost of goods sold, would depend on the precise terms of financing agreements, e.g. the indexing according to inflation or the link to a stable currency.

(44) The Commission further noted that, irrespective of the merits of the parties’ arguments for adjustments, such adjustments would be possible only for the financial data of Orma, for which detailed financial reports exist. For the other Turkish producer, AGT, such detailed report is not available, and it cannot be presumed that any adjustments appropriate for Orma would be appropriate also for that company.

(45) As an alternative to adjusting data of individual Turkish producers, the Forest group suggested to establish benchmarks for SG&A and profit based on the Turkish government’s data of the average operating expenses and operating profit of the companies involved in the ‘Manufacture of products of wood, cork, straw and plaiting materials’, i.e. NACE - C-162 (10). Forest group considered that this would be the most reasonable approach in the present context and the Turkish government data are official and reliable. Moreover, as regards the SG&A, Forest group suggested to deduct expenses relating to the transport and insurance, handling and loading/distribution, e.g. based on a ratio calculated from the financial statements of Orma.

(46) The Commission agreed that the data published by the Central Bank of Türkiye on the financial results of companies with activities under NACE – C-162, are official and reliable. Moreover, the Commission noted that, based on the total revenue, they appear to include a much more comprehensive group of companies, and therefore they are significantly less likely to be affected by specificities of individual companies. Moreover, the Commission noted that these data include adjustments for inflation, further strengthening the reliability of the data.

(47) In view of this, the Commission agreed to use these data to establish new benchmarks for SG&A and for profit. The Commission also noted that it has been unable to find any financial data with a comparable scope, detail and reliability for companies operating in Malaysia.

(48) The Commission considered that, although not reported under operating expenses, financial expenses are incurred for the operation of the company and therefore, they should be included in the SG&A.

(49) As regards transport costs and following the claim described in recital 40 above, the Commission noted that in the data published by the Central Bank of Türkiye lacked detailed information on these costs. Therefore, the company’s claim to deduct transport cost from SG&A was rejected.

(50) As regards the calculation of profit, the Commission initially took into account the operating profit (with inflation adjustments) and the financial expenses reported by the Turkish Central Bank.