UK proposes anti-dumping duty of up to 63.66% on Chinese titanium dioxide

Britain proposed on Wednesday anti-dumping duties of up to 63.66% on Chinese imports of rutile titanium dioxide, a whitening pigment used in paints, plastics and paper, saying a surge in shipments threatened the domestic industry.

The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA), the British body that investigates whether new trade remedies are needed to counter unfair import practices and unforeseen surges of imports, said it found rutile titanium dioxide is being dumped into the UK and that there is an imminent threat of injury to the UK industry.

The TRA proposed a mixed anti-dumping duty for five years. Cooperating exporters, whether sampled or not, would face 48.29% ad valorem with a minimum of £0.665 per kg. All other overseas exporters would face 63.66% ad valorem with a minimum of £0.876 per kg.

An ad valorem duty is based on a percentage of the value of the goods. The TRA said it proposed a mixed duty, a combination of ad valorem and a specific duty, to maximise effectiveness, and that which duty applies depends on which generates the most tariff revenue.

Since the investigation began, imports of titanium dioxide from China have increased significantly, with the volume imported in May 2026 over 299% of the volume imported in May 2025, the TRA said. It said the trend would likely continue without a trade remedy measure.

The TRA said the increase in imports and the threat to the UK industry are due largely to increased Chinese production capacity and to trade remedy measures imposed on titanium dioxide in other jurisdictions, including the European Union, Brazil, India and Saudi Arabia. 

Those measures have limited China’s access to those markets and increased the attractiveness of export markets without protection, such as the UK, it said.

Rutile titanium dioxide is widely used as a whitening agent to provide brightness, opacity and durability in coatings, plastics, paper and many other industrial and consumer products, the TRA said.

TRA Chief Executives Jessica Blakely and Carmen Suarez said dumped Chinese imports posed an "immediate threat" to Britain’s titanium dioxide industry, which employs more than 570 people and supplies hundreds of downstream businesses.

Interested parties have until Oct 26 to comment on the initial findings through the TRA’s Trade Remedies Service. The TRA will then make its final recommendation to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.