EU Anti-Dumping Duties on Chinese Bicycles and E-Bikes: What Importers Must Check Before Ordering

Short answer: Yes. Definitive EU anti-dumping measures on bicycles originating in China have been in force since 1993, were continued after expiry review by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1379, and were extended to essential bicycle parts by Council Regulation (EC) 71/97. Electric bicycles from China carry two measures imposed in January 2019 and likewise continued after review: an anti-dumping duty under Regulation (EU) 2019/73 and a countervailing, or anti-subsidy, duty under Regulation (EU) 2019/72. The duty applied depends on the exporting producer's TARIC additional code, so confirm that code before booking and verify the measure yourself in the EU TARIC database by CN code on the day of import — never on the supplier's word.

Which EU measures apply to bicycles and e-bikes from China?

Several separate instruments can bite on one shipment. Read the table as a checklist, not as history.

Why does this surprise first-time importers?

Because it is invisible in a quotation. The duty is charged on top of the ordinary customs duty, assessed on the customs value at import, and owed by the importer of record — the EU company on the declaration, not the factory. The Incoterm changes who arranges and pre-pays, never who is liable: EXW, FOB and CIF leave clearance with the buyer, and DDP merely routes payment through the seller's agent.

What is the parts exemption scheme and the 60/40 rule?

Council Regulation (EC) 71/97 extended the bicycle duty to essential bicycle parts because EU assembly from Chinese kits was being used to bypass the measure. Commission Regulation (EC) 88/97 then created the exemption route: an assembly operation authorised by the Commission may import essential parts of Chinese origin free of the extended duty.

Authorisation turns on the anti-circumvention test. Parts of Chinese origin must stay below 60 percent of the total value of the parts used, or value added must exceed 25 percent of manufacturing cost. Three things trip buyers up. The exemption belongs to the named authorised assembler and is not transferable to a trader or customer; it covers parts for assembly, never finished bicycles; and it requires end-use authorisation with part-by-part records that customs will audit. Regulation (EC) 88/97 also carries a small-quantity threshold below 300 units of a given part type per month — a narrow window, not a plan for a container.

Does shipping through a third country remove the duty?

No, and this is the costliest misunderstanding in the trade. Two independent rules stand in the way.

1. Origin is not shipment. Non-preferential origin follows the last substantial, economically justified processing. Fitting wheels, repacking or relabelling confers no new origin, so the goods stay Chinese however many ports appear on the routing.
2. Consignment alone can trigger the duty. Regulation (EU) 501/2013 extended the bicycle measures to bicycles consigned from Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Tunisia, and Regulation (EU) 2015/776 did the same for Cambodia, Pakistan and the Philippines — whether or not declared as originating there. Only producers named and exempted in those regulations escape, each with its own TARIC additional code.

A false origin declaration is not a paperwork slip: it creates a customs debt with interest and penalties, can be pursued years after clearance, and in several member states is a criminal matter.

How do I find the rate that applies to my supplier?

Producers investigated and listed by name hold individual TARIC additional codes; anyone unlisted falls to the residual code for all other companies, which is the highest. Run this sequence before booking.

1. Identify the exporting producer's exact legal name — the entity on the commercial invoice and as shipper on the bill of lading, not the trading arm.
2. Ask in writing for its TARIC additional code and the regulation granting it.
3. Verify it yourself in the EU TARIC database against the CN code, country of origin China and that additional code, on the date of import.
4. Require the code printed on the commercial invoice, with any exporter declaration the measure demands.
5. Confirm the invoicing party matches the named producer. If a trader invoices, the individual rate is generally lost.

What about CKD kits, registration and retroactive collection?

Duties are assessed on the customs value at import and apply equally to CKD and SKD kits — a bicycle presented in pieces is still the product concerned. Separately, imports can be made subject to registration while an investigation or circumvention inquiry runs, allowing retroactive collection on goods already cleared. That is why the check belongs on the day of import, not the day of the quotation.

Frequently asked questions

Check it before the deposit, not after the vessel

Every point above is verifiable in an afternoon, and each is far easier to settle before a deposit than after a container is on the water. Our importer guide sets out the full documentation sequence for an EU-bound bicycle shipment.