The EU Plans to Protect European Manufacturers From Imports

The European Commission has initiated permanent surveillance of all imports[1].

Purpose of import monitoring

The primary purpose of the surveillance is to counteract the harmful diversion of imports to the EU from third countries that impose additional import duties or other import restrictions, which may harm European producers. This mechanism was introduced in response to the numerous duties imposed by the United States.

What goods are subject to surveillance?

Imports of goods that simultaneously meet the following criteria automatically fall under monitoring:

for such goods, there was a change in the structure of imports in 2025 compared to 2023;

import volumes increased by 5% or more;

average import prices decreased by 5% or more;

average weekly import value of at least EUR 100,000; and

there is production in this sector in the EU.

How does surveillance work?

The European Commission constantly monitors imports. The surveillance results are displayed in special dashboards that indicate "problematic” products that meet the above criteria.

The Commission has also begun cooperating more actively with representatives of domestic industries that may be affected by imports. In particular, the Commission calls on industries to provide market information, which, together with import statistics, will enable the Commission to more fully assess all the risks of potential harm to certain industries.

Based on the surveillance results, the Commission prepares reports with an in-depth analysis of the situation for specific industries. The most recent  report was prepared in July[2], which identified 85 "problematic” commodity items from countries such as China, India and the United States, etc.

What are the consequences?

If the European Commission finds that there are risks of harm to certain domestic industries, it can consult with trading partners on a significant increase in imports. For example, the Commission has already started a dialogue with China and is constantly exchanging information to identify and prevent trade reorientation caused by tariffs and other protectionist measures.[3]

In addition, the European Commission will encourage industries to initiate investigations that may result in anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard measures being applied to imports.

Therefore, Ukrainian companies should also pay attention to monitoring and preventing their products from falling into the "problematic” category.