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Taiwan Rep / Notes

The EU's duty on Chinese fasteners is up to 86.5%. Why has Taiwan's lead shrunk anyway?

Since February 2022 the EU has charged anti-dumping duty of 22.1% to 86.5% on certain Chinese steel screws, bolts and washers. You might expect Taiwan, which out-shipped China in the Commission's own investigation, to have gained. Eurostat says otherwise: on the CN codes concerned, the EU imported about as many tonnes from China as from Taiwan in 2025, and in the first seven months of 2026 China was ahead.

Updated October 11, 2026. Regulation text read from the EU Official Journal; trade figures from Eurostat's Comext database, updated September 15, 2026.

The short version

  • Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/191 puts anti-dumping duty on Chinese wood screws, self-tapping screws, other screws and bolts with heads, and washers, of steel other than stainless. Rates run from 22.1% to 86.5%. Nuts imported on their own aren't covered. Chinese screws and bolts without heads have been under a separate measure since 2025, with definitive duty from October 2025.
  • On the ten CN codes named in the regulation (a slightly wider set than the duty itself covers), EU imports from China were 268,000 tonnes in 2025, more than the 257,000 tonnes of 2022. Imports from Taiwan were 271,000 tonnes, down from 374,000.
  • Even with a 39.6% duty added, China's average value per kilogram on these codes would stay below Taiwan's. Price is one possible explanation; these aggregate data don't establish the cause.
  • The duty applies to goods originating in China, wherever they ship from. If you buy from Taiwan, origin is what you need to be able to prove.
  • The Commission's notice of impending expiry says the measures expire on February 18, 2027 unless a review is opened. EU producers can request one until three months before that date.

Anti-dumping duty is meant to raise the price of the goods it targets so that buyers turn to other sources. For EU fastener buyers, the obvious other source is Taiwan. In the Commission's own investigation, covering July 2019 to June 2020, Taiwan was the largest source outside China: 236,636 tonnes and 14% of the EU market, more than China's 209,033 tonnes. Four years of Eurostat data don't show Taiwan gaining. This note covers what the regulation covers and at what rates, what the trade numbers show, why the two might fit together, and what it means if you buy from Taiwan.

What the duty covers

Article 1 of Regulation 2022/191 covers fasteners of iron or steel other than stainless steel: wood screws (but not coach screws), self-tapping screws, other screws and bolts with heads, whether or not with their nuts or washers (but not screws and bolts for fixing railway track), and washers, originating in China. It lists them under CN codes 7318 12 90, 7318 14 91, 7318 14 99, 7318 15 58, 15 68, 15 82 and 15 88, and parts of 7318 15 95, 7318 21 00 and 7318 22 00. Nuts on their own (7318 16) aren't on the list. Screws and bolts without heads have a separate measure: after provisional duties in June 2025, Regulation 2025/2153 of October 22, 2025 set definitive duties of 54.7% to 72.3% on Chinese headless screws and bolts of non-stainless steel under 7318 15 42 and 15 48, and applied them retroactively to certain registered imports from March 19, 2025.

The rates under 2022/191 are a percentage of the net, free-at-EU-frontier price before duty:

Chinese producerDuty
Jiangsu Yongyi Fastener22.1%
Ningbo Jinding Fastening Piece46.1%
Wenzhou Junhao Industry48.8%
Other cooperating companies listed in the annex39.6%
All other companies86.5%

The individual rates only apply if the importer presents a valid commercial invoice carrying a dated declaration, signed by an official of the entity issuing the invoice and identified by name and function, in wording the regulation sets out (Article 1(3)). Since 2023 the Commission has added more Chinese producers to the 39.6% annex through new exporting producer requests, most recently in September 2026.

This isn't the EU's first duty on these goods. Duties imposed in 2009 under Regulation 91/2009 were extended to fasteners consigned from Malaysia after a circumvention finding, and repealed in February 2016 by Regulation 2016/278. In July 2026, Regulation 2026/1788 deleted two leftover "consigned from Malaysia" washer codes from the 2022 measure with effect back to February 18, 2022, because they had no legal basis, and said duties collected under them should be repaid.

What the trade numbers show

We pulled EU imports from Eurostat for the ten CN codes in Article 1. Because three of them are covered only in part, the totals include some goods the duty doesn't reach, such as stainless washers. Treat them as an approximation of the covered trade, not a measurement of it.

EU imports, tonnes20192022202320242025
Taiwan301,234373,788259,047234,386271,029
China263,152256,580199,292213,590268,323
Vietnam94,786118,71297,040101,594140,523
Türkiye56,32598,08181,04077,52775,341
All non-EU946,9551,120,100886,663851,621982,203

China's tonnage dipped in 2023, the first full year of the duty, and by 2025 was above its 2022 level. Taiwan's fell from 2022 to 2024 and recovered only part of the way in 2025. Vietnam grew by about half since 2019.

2026 so far continues the pattern. From January to July, EU imports on these codes from Taiwan were 138,021 tonnes, 16.6% fewer than a year earlier. Imports from China were 143,648 tonnes, down 4.5%. China was ahead, as it last was in 2020 and 2021.

By value Taiwan is still well ahead: €800 million in 2025 against China's €474 million. The gap in value per kilogram is wide. Taiwan's goods came in at about €2.95 a kilo, China's at about €1.77.

How a duty and a recovery can both be true

The duty is charged on top of the import price. A hypothetical shows why that may not be enough. Take China's 2025 average of €1.77 a kilo:

These are averages across very different products, so this isn't a price comparison for any one part. It does show how Chinese goods from producers with an individual or annex rate can stay below the Taiwan average even after duty. It counts the anti-dumping duty only, not normal customs duty, freight differences or CBAM. Each producer added to the annex can move from the 86.5% residual rate to 39.6%.

The two countries also ship different mixes. In 2025, under 7318 15 88 (hexagon screws and bolts with a tensile strength of 800 MPa or more), the EU imported 74,784 tonnes from China and 29,317 from Taiwan. Under 7318 12 90 (wood screws), it was 68,505 tonnes from Taiwan and 46,940 from China.

Here is what's established and what isn't. Known: the duty is in force and Chinese tonnage on these codes has recovered. Inferred: on these averages, Chinese goods paying the individual or annex rates could still come in below Taiwan's average. Unknown: how much of the Chinese tonnage enters at which rate, and how prices compare product by product. Eurostat doesn't report that, and we haven't seen the Commission publish it.

What it means if you buy from Taiwan

The duty follows origin, not the shipping route. Article 1 applies to fasteners "originating in" China, and the EU decides origin under its own rules: goods made in more than one country originate where they underwent their last substantial, economically justified processing (Union Customs Code, Article 60). Customs can ask the declarant to prove the origin declared, and, where proof has been provided but reasonable doubt remains, ask for more evidence (Article 61).

That's where a Taiwan supplier's paperwork matters. A bolt headed and threaded in Taiwan from imported wire rod is a different case from a Chinese bolt that was only repacked in Taiwan. Our certificate of origin note covers what Taiwan's own rules count as Taiwan origin and what a Taiwan certificate proves. Our registry note covers how to check which plants a supplier has registered. Shipment-linked production records, and site checks where needed, show which one made your parts.

On timing: under the EU's basic anti-dumping regulation, a measure expires five years after it was imposed unless an expiry review finds that dumping and injury would likely return (Regulation 2016/1036, Article 11(2)). The 2022 measure entered into force on February 18, 2022. On May 29, 2026 the Commission published the notice of impending expiry (C/2026/2827): the duties expire on February 18, 2027 unless a review is initiated, and EU producers can request one no later than three months before that date. If a review is opened, the duties stay in force while it runs. A search of Official Journal titles on October 11, 2026 found no notice opening a review yet. If you're pricing Taiwan against China for 2027, watch for one.

So why has Taiwan's lead shrunk? Price is one possible explanation: on average, Chinese fasteners paying the lower rates can still come in below Taiwan's. These aggregate data don't prove it. What keeps a Taiwan shipment out of the duty is that it qualifies as Taiwan origin under the EU's rules, and that you can support that with records from the plant.

Need origin evidence from the plant?

We visit your Taiwan supplier, confirm the registered plant, photograph the forming and threading of your parts, and ask for the wire rod invoices, mill certificates and lot records that tie your shipment to that plant. You get an English report of what we found, including any gaps, to hand to your customs adviser.

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This is a plain-English summary for buyers, not legal or customs advice. Duty rates and annex lists change; check the current TARIC measure for your CN code and supplier before you import.

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