EEC recommends five-year extension of anti-dumping duties on Chinese seamless steel pipes

EEC moves to keep duties on Chinese oil and gas pipes in place

The Internal Market Protection Department of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) has concluded that anti-dumping duties on seamless steel pipes from China should remain in force for another five years, according to finmarket.ru and finance.rambler.ru. The pipes covered by the measure are used to drill and operate oil and gas wells, placing them at the centre of the EAEU's upstream energy supply chain.

The recommendation follows a repeat investigation, whose report warns that lifting the restrictions would revive dumped imports and damage regional producers. "Termination of the anti-dumping measure will, with high probability, lead to an increase in the volume of dumped imports of the goods from the PRC onto the customs territory of the EAEU at significantly lower prices," the document states.

What the duties cover

The measures set duties ranging from 12.23% to 31% of customs value, depending on the exporter. They were introduced in August 2015 to counter Chinese seamless pipe shipments sold below normal value. Anti-dumping duties are additional levies designed to bring the price of imported goods into line with market value and shield domestic producers from underpriced competition.

Timeline and next steps

The duties had been scheduled to expire in April 2026. After EAEU producers petitioned the Commission in late 2025, a fresh review was opened, and the existing measures were extended to 21 December 2026 for the duration of that probe. The department's conclusion that a five-year extension is warranted now feeds into the Commission's formal decision-making.

For pipe mills across the EAEU — chiefly in Russia — the recommendation preserves a tariff wall that has been in place for close to a decade. Seamless oil country tubular goods are tied directly to drilling activity, so demand tracks oil and gas investment across the union.

For Chinese producers, continued duties of up to 31% keep the EAEU a difficult market to access on price. China is the world's largest steel producer, and seamless pipe exports have repeatedly drawn trade-defence action in multiple jurisdictions.

The final ruling rests with the EEC, which must convert the department's finding into a binding decision before the current extension expires on 21 December 2026. Until then, the 2015 duty schedule remains in effect.