The European Commission has imposed definitive anti-dumping duties on imports of 1,4-Butanediol (BDO) from China, Saudi Arabia and the US.

BDO, produced in Germany, the Netherlands and Italy, is an essential precursor for many important products including electric and hybrid vehicles and lithium batteries.

Provisional anti-dumping duties were imposed on the three countries named last February. On June 24, the Commission’s Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security announced definitive duties ranging from 105.6% to 113.7% for China, 52.4% for Saudi Arabia, and from 135.7% to 142.5% for the US.

The imposition of duties follows an investigation, launched in June 2025, which found that imports of BDO from the three countries investigated were entering the EU at dumped prices ― harming the bloc’s own BDO-producing nations.

According to the Commission, the investigation showed that the losses to industry in the EU were deemed so high as to represent a major threat to its existence in the short term.

In 2024, the European Union imported BDO to the value of €140 million ($160 million) from the three countries investigated.