The Long Cycle Notes

What does the EU anti-dumping duty on Chinese ceramic tableware mean for buyers in 2026?

By Jeffrey Chen · Published 2026-10-09

It means a much higher landed cost for anything made in China. Since 7 February 2026, ceramic tableware and kitchenware originating in China pays a single EU anti-dumping duty of 79.0%, under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/274. The earlier company rates of 13.1% to 36.1% no longer apply. The duty follows origin, not the shipping route: Chinese-made goods pay it even when shipped through another country, and goods genuinely made elsewhere do not.

Why buyers are asking this now

The rate more than doubled this year. On 5 February 2026 the European Commission adopted Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/274. It was published in the Official Journal on 6 February 2026 and entered into force the next day. It replaced the company rates of 13.1% to 36.1% with one rate of 79.0% for all ceramic tableware and kitchenware made in China.

It followed a renewal. In October 2025, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1981 concluded an expiry review and kept the measures in place. These duties were first imposed in 2013 and have been renewed twice since. A separate partial interim review, opened on 19 December 2024 and limited to dumping, led to the February 2026 increase.

For buyers planning 2026 and 2027 programs, the question is no longer whether the duty applies. It is how much of an EU ceramic line should still be made in China.

What the regulation covers

The duty applies to ceramic tableware and kitchenware originating in the People's Republic of China, whether porcelain (including bone china), stoneware, earthenware, common pottery, fine pottery or other ceramic materials. Material does not take an item out of scope.

• CN codes: ex 6911 10 00, ex 6912 00 21, ex 6912 00 23, ex 6912 00 25 and ex 6912 00 29.
• TARIC codes: 6911 10 00 90, 6912 00 21 11, 6912 00 21 91, 6912 00 23 10, 6912 00 25 10 and 6912 00 29 10.

Excluded from scope:

• Ceramic condiment or spice mills and their ceramic grinding parts
• Ceramic coffee mills
• Ceramic knife sharpeners and ceramic sharpeners
• Ceramic kitchen tools for cutting, grinding, grating, slicing, scraping and peeling
• Cordierite ceramic pizza stones of a kind used for baking pizza or bread

During the review, importers asked the Commission to exclude sublimation-coated ceramics. The request was rejected, so blanks made for sublimation printing stay in scope.

The duty rates, before and after February 2026

Who made the goods	Until 6 February 2026 (Reg. 2025/1981)	From 7 February 2026 (Reg. 2026/274)
Sampled producer group 1	18.3%	79.0%
Sampled producer 2	13.1%	79.0%
Sampled producer group 3	17.6%	79.0%
Cooperating producers not sampled	17.9%	79.0%
All other companies	36.1%	79.0%

Why 79.0%: the review found dumping far above the old rates, 138.28% country-wide and between 80.9% and 444.7% for the sampled producer groups. Under the EU's lesser-duty rule, the duty is set at the level needed to remove the injury to EU producers when that level is lower than the dumping found. The Commission put that level at 79.0%, and it became the duty.

The change also removes a lever buyers used to rely on. Choosing a named producer and getting the invoice declaration right no longer lowers the rate. The Commission found individual rates impracticable for this product and noted that border checks of signed declarations had not been effective enough.

The duty is charged on the net, free-at-Union-frontier price before duty, on top of normal customs duty.

What this means for a buyer's program

For a Chinese-made plate, bowl or mug sold in the EU, the duty is now a large part of the landed cost, and it is the same whichever Chinese factory made it. Buyers we talk to are weighing three options:

• Keep the item in China and price the duty in. This still makes sense for items that depend on tooling, decoration or skills that only sit in China, or for small volumes where moving production is not worth it.
• Run dual origin. Keep part of the line in China and build a second source for the same or similar items. It takes development work, but it spreads the risk if rates move again.
• Move eligible items to another origin. Items a non-Chinese factory can genuinely make, such as much stoneware dinnerware, can be produced there and enter without this duty. It is the most direct route, but only when the product is truly made there.

Our view stays simple: put each item where it is strongest. China remains a core base for us. For EU ceramic programs, the 79.0% rate pushes many items toward a second origin, but capability, lead time and quality still decide where each one belongs.

Origin is decided by where it is made, not where it ships from

The duty follows the origin of the goods. Shipping a Chinese-made plate from another port does not change where it was made.

EU law addresses this directly. Under Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036, the EU basic anti-dumping regulation, duties can be extended to imports from third countries when circumvention of the measures is taking place. The practices it lists include consignment of the product via third countries. The EU has already used anti-circumvention action on this product: in 2019 it extended the residual rate to imports declared by 33 companies that had been using lower rates.

Customs authorities also carry out their usual checks and may ask for additional documents, such as shipping documents, to confirm where goods were made.

Our position is plain. We do not transship. What we ship from Vietnam is made in Vietnam, and every shipment travels with a Certificate of Origin.

What we see on the factory floor

We started building our Vietnam ceramic supply chain in 2024, before the tariff picture was clear. Eighteen months ago, "Vietnam ceramics" mostly meant terracotta, garden pots and rustic outdoor pieces: good products, but a long way from tableware-grade execution.

That changed through factory development, technical transfer and trial after trial. Fine stoneware dinnerware is now in real production in Vietnam, with the body quality, glaze consistency and flatware tolerances that separate a garden pot from a dinner plate. Automatic forming lines for ceramic vessels are running, hand-painting programs are delivering, and decal application is coming up to retail standard step by step.

European buyers are acting on it. At a European discount retailer's supplier conference in Vietnam in late April 2026, buyers reviewed products, discussed pricing directly and made decisions on the spot, and some of our ceramic items moved to the next stage. The questions we hear are rarely about factory price alone. They are about landed cost, country of origin, execution risk, quality consistency and speed to market.

We don't own the factories in either country. As a sourcing and product development company, we qualify them, develop the product with them and inspect production, so the choice of origin stays open for every item.

Our read: China will remain important for ceramics. But for EU programs, a second origin where the product is genuinely made has moved from a contingency plan to a buying decision. The best supplier is not always the cheapest one. It is the one that takes uncertainty off the buyer's desk.

What to check before you place the order

• Origin documentation. Ask for a Certificate of Origin with every shipment. For goods made outside China, make sure the supplier can show that forming, glazing and firing happen in that country.
• CN code classification. Confirm whether each item falls under 6911 or 6912, and whether it is one of the excluded mills, sharpeners, kitchen tools or pizza stones. Classification decides whether the duty applies at all.
• The live rate. Check TARIC before each order rather than a printed rate list. The rate changed in February 2026 and can change again through a review.
• Cost changes at origin. China removed the export VAT rebate on porcelain and ceramic tableware from 1 April 2026, which raises the export cost of China-made items before any EU duty is added.
• Food-contact compliance. Ceramic articles intended to come into contact with food fall under Council Directive 84/500/EEC, as amended, which sets limits on lead and cadmium release. Test before shipment.
• Labelling. Make sure origin marking, packaging and documents all match the true country of manufacture.

Sources (accessed 2026-10-09): Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/274, Article 1 and recitals (14), (38), (42), (179), (208), (211), (225), (237), with its corrigendum of 5 May 2026; Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1981, Article 1 and recitals (3), (5), (6), (245); Regulation (EU) 2016/1036, Articles 11(2) and 13; Council Directive 84/500/EEC; Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration of China, Announcement 2026 No. 2, Annex 1 (as reproduced by the Hong Kong Trade and Industry Department).

Planning an EU ceramic program for 2026 or 2027? See our Vietnam ceramics capability and ceramic dinnerware, or start a conversation.

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