EU anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese tires 2026: rates, affected brands and price impact

© A. Krivonosov

Europe isn’t just going after electric cars — it’s now targeting a far more everyday part: tires. The EU is imposing anti-dumping duties on Chinese tires for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, ranging from 4.3% to 45.3%. For drivers, this isn’t an abstract trade war — it’s a possible price increase in the most price-sensitive segment of the market: budget tires.

Chinese tires have grown significantly stronger in Europe over the past few years: their market share rose from 18% in 2021 to 28% in 2024, with imports reaching around 93 million units. Against this backdrop, European manufacturers like Michelin, Pirelli and Continental secured protection from dumping. According to the EU, Chinese suppliers were underpricing their products, while European factories lost volume, sales and market share.

The rate depends on the company. Shandong Yongsheng and producers without an individual tariff face 45.3%, a number of companies that cooperated with the investigation face 24.4%, while Hankook, which makes part of its tires in China, received 4.3%. The average import value of a Chinese tire in 2024 was €30.30 — around $34.60. With the duty applied, the added cost at entry could run to roughly €7.4–13.7 per tire before retail markup.

The main risk isn’t that Chinese tires will disappear, but that the cheap end of the market will narrow. In the premium segment, buyers already tend to look at Michelin, Continental, Goodyear, Pirelli or Bridgestone, while in the lower part of the market Chinese brands competed mainly on price. If the price gap with European and Korean brands shrinks, some buyers will start choosing a more familiar brand with predictable durability and wet-road performance instead of simply the cheapest set.

A tire remains one of those rare consumables where the savings are obvious right away, while a mistake only shows up in the rain, on the highway, or during hard braking.