Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The European Commission today published its annual report on EU trade defense activities for 2021. The report finds that 462,000 EU jobs were directly protected by EU trade measures in 2021 in key EU manufacturing sectors such as aluminium, steel, ceramics and technology green .
This shows that EU actions are effective in defending EU producers against unfair international trade practices.

Executive Vice President and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said: “It is essential to defend European producers and workers against harm by those who do not practice the rules of trade. Ensuring fair trade is more important than ever in today's challenging global environment and when the security of supply is under threat. We cannot allow flooded or subsidized imports to harm industry in the EU. This is why the effective application and enforcement of our trade defense measures remains a top priority for the European Commission."

By combating unfair imports of products critical to renewables or digital value chains, such as components for wind towers or optical fibres, EU trade measures encourage investment in modern manufacturing and research and development, both of which are critical to maintaining supply, growth, job and revenue stability in these industries in Europe. They also support the European Green Deal and the Digital Agenda for Europe.

Strict action on duty evasion and assistance to EU exporters abroad

The annual report for 2021 shows that the Commission has intensified its oversight efforts to identify and punish economic operators who are evading duties, notably through fraud. Where such practices were found in 2021, the Commission took decisive action through anti-fraud or anti-assimilation measures.

Furthermore, the Commission has improved the assistance it provides to EU exporters in addressing unjustified or unfair trade defense measures imposed on our exporters by third countries.

The Commission has also implemented the remaining recommendations of the European Court of Auditors from 2020, in particular in relation to communication and raising awareness of stakeholders (particularly SMEs) on the purpose and use of trade defense tools.

There were 163 final trade defense measures in effect in the EU at the end of 2021, mostly anti-dumping measures. The Commission launched 14 new investigations in 2021, including 11 anti-dumping investigations and 3 anti-subsidy investigations.

The staff work document accompanying the annual report lists the Commission's trade defense activities for 2021. It summarizes a selection of interesting commercial defense-related cases and court rulings, as well as illustrating the many third country cases the Commission monitored during the year