Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2047 of 14 September 2026 extending the retrospective Union surveillance of imports of renewable ethanol for fuel

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

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

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2015/478 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2015 on common rules for imports [^ntr1-L_202602047EN.000101-E0001], and in particular Article 10 thereof,

Having regard to 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 [^ntr2-L_202602047EN.000101-E0002], and in particular Article 7 thereof,

After consulting the Committee on Safeguards and Common Rules for Exports,

Whereas:

• (1) According to Article 10 of Regulation (EU) 2015/478 Union surveillance may be introduced where the trend in imports of a product threatens to cause injury to Union producers and where the interest of the Union so requires. Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 2015/755 allows for the possibility to introduce surveillance where the Union’s interests so require. Retrospective surveillance, requiring each Member State to transmit import data to the European Commission shortly after actual importation has taken place, may be introduced under both Regulations, respectively pursuant to Article 10(1)(a) and Article 7(1)(a).

• (2) It is recalled that retrospective surveillance concerning imports of renewable ethanol for fuel (‘bioethanol’) was firstly introduced in November 2020 with Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1628 [^ntr3-L_202602047EN.000101-E0003]. The Regulation introduced certain TARIC codes for a duration of one year.

• (3) Regulation (EU) 2020/1628 expired on 4 November 2021 and therefore the TARIC codes were de-activated in the customs system. Subsequently, retrospective Union surveillance on imports of bioethanol was re-introduced for a three-year period with Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1777 [^ntr4-L_202602047EN.000101-E0004].

• (4) Based on information available to the Commission, imports of renewable ethanol for fuel have again increased in recent years, and since the introduction of the previous regulation, in significant amounts.

• (5) Import volumes of bioethanol for fuel from all origins have continued to increase from 621 954 tonnes in 2023 to 967 354 tonnes in 2025, representing a 55 % increase. The US is by far the largest exporting country, representing 44 % of total bioethanol imports in 2025, followed by Canada, Ukraine, and the UK.

• (6) During the same period, Brazil’s exports to the EU show an increase from 25 000 tonnes in 2023 to 46 000 tonnes in 2025. Nevertheless, this volume is still rather limited compared to the US exports, that went up from 114 000 tonnes in 2023 to 423 000 tonnes 2025.

• (7) The Union market is attractive due to its high prices and increasing demand, which is sustained due to the regulatory framework, for which Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council [^ntr5-L_202602047EN.000101-E0005] and Directive (EU) 2023/2413 of the European Parliament and of the Council [^ntr6-L_202602047EN.000101-E0006] are the backbone.

• (8) The import price has continued to decrease, with an average import price decreasing from 1 014 EUR/tonne in 2023 to 816 EUR/tonne in 2025, a decrease of 19 %. This decrease is largely attributed to the major decrease of the US import price, which also decreased by 19 % between 2024 and 2025 (from 932 EUR/tonne to 752 EUR/tonne), thereby remaining around 16 % below the Union sales price.

• (9) Furthermore, ePURE representing the European renewable ethanol industry estimates that major exporting countries, such as the US or Brazil, have large spare capacities. The US alone has around 12,5 million tonnes of spare capacity, which is more than double of Union consumption, which was around 5 million tonnes in 2025. Brazil has around 16 million tonnes of spare capacity, which is more than three times the volume of Union consumption in 2025 (see Table 1 for details).

• (10) Additionally, as shown in Table 1 below, US and Brazil have excess capacity to be eventually and swiftly directed to any targeted export markets. The EU consumption is around 4,9 million tonnes and US and Brazilian producers have a combined excess capacity of 28,3 million tonnes potentially available for export, therefore capable to meet multiple times the Union demand.

Table 1

Production capacity vs domestic consumption in the year 2025

[^ntr7-L_202602047EN.000101-E0007]: The Union production was 4 498 816 tonnes in 2025.

• (11) The persistent and widening pricing gap between imported and bioethanol produced in the Union exercised pressure, which led to a decrease of Union sales prices by 21 % between 2023 and 2025. The increase of imports coincides with a 5 % decrease in the market share of the EU industry. The market share of the Union producers declined from 86 % in 2023 to 81 % in 2025. Rather than benefitting from the increase of the Union consumption, the Union industry lost some market share during the period considered, which clearly indicates that imports into the EU penetrated the Union market to the detriment of the Union industry.

• (12) As provided by the Union industry, since 2023, several economic indicators have been deteriorating, showing signs of injury suffered by the sampled EU producers, in particular:

• — Market share (6 % decrease)

• — Capacity utilisation (1 % decrease)

• — Union sales value (18 % decrease)

• — Union sales price (21 % decrease)

• — Profitability (22 % decrease)

• (13) Thus, it is in the Union interest that imports of bioethanol should continue to be subject to retrospective Union surveillance in order to provide statistical information, before the issuance of official import statistics. Surveillance data allows to more closely follow any further changes in trade flows and their possible impact. Rapid trade data is necessary to deal with the vulnerability of the Union market of bioethanol and to detect sudden changes on the world market.

• (14) Since ethanol for fuel can be classified in various CN headings containing other products, specific TARIC codes have been created in order to ensure adequate monitoring limited only to the relevant product types. In line with Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1777, which will expire in September 2026, the scope of the retrospective surveillance shall include the product types listed in the Annex to this Regulation.

• (15) In order to allow for a proper monitoring of import trends and to avoid that the relevant TARIC codes are de-activated retrospective surveillance should be extended for an additional period of three years,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 16 September 2026, and shall remain in force for three years, till 15 September 2029.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 14 September 2026.

For the Commission

The President

Ursula VON DER LEYEN

[^ntr1-L_202602047EN.000101-E0001]: OJ L 83, 27.3.2015, p. 16, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2015/478/oj.

[^ntr2-L_202602047EN.000101-E0002]: OJ L 123, 19.5.2015, p. 33, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2015/755/oj.

[^ntr3-L_202602047EN.000101-E0003]: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1628 of 3 November 2020 introducing retrospective Union surveillance of imports of renewable ethanol for fuel, (OJ L 366, 4.11.2020, p. 12, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2020/1628/oj.

[^ntr4-L_202602047EN.000101-E0004]: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1777 of 14 September 2023 introducing retrospective Union surveillance of imports of renewable ethanol for fuel (OJ L 228, 15.9.2023, p. 247, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2023/1777/oj).

[^ntr5-L_202602047EN.000101-E0005]: Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, (OJ L 328, 21.12.2018, p. 82, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2018/2001/oj).

[^ntr6-L_202602047EN.000101-E0006]: Directive (EU) 2023/2413 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023 amending Directive (EU) 2018/2001, Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 and Directive 98/70/EC as regards the promotion of energy from renewable sources, and repealing Council Directive (EU) 2015/652 (OJ L, 2023/2413, 31.10.2023, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2023/2413/oj).

[^ntc7-L_202602047EN.000101-E0007]  The Union production was 4 498 816 tonnes in 2025.

[^ntr8-L_202602047EN.000101-E0008]: 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).

ANNEX

List of product types subject to retrospective Union surveillance

The product concerned subject to retrospective surveillance is renewable ethanol for fuel, i.e. ethyl alcohol produced from agricultural products (as listed in Annex I to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union), denatured or undenatured, excluding products with a water content of more than 0,3 % (m/m) measured according to the standard EN 15376, but including ethyl alcohol produced from agricultural products (as listed in Annex I to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union) contained in blends with gasoline with an ethyl alcohol content of more than 10 % (v/v) intended for fuel uses. The product concerned also covers ethyl alcohol produced from agricultural products (as listed in Annex I to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union) contained in Ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE).

The product scope is exclusively limited to renewable ethanol used for fuel applications. Thus, synthetic ethanol and renewable ethanol destined to applications other than fuel, i.e. industrial and beverage use, is not covered.

The product concerned currently falls under the following CN and TARIC codes:

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2026/2047/oj

ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)