The European Union imposed definitive countervailing duties on imports of continuous filament glass fibre products originating from Egypt, following an investigation that established actionable subsidisation.
The European Commission has imposed a definitive countervailing duty on continuous filament glass fibre products from Egypt, in a regulation dated Sept. 22, 2026 and published the next day1.
The act is Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/21071. A countervailing duty is an extra import tax that cancels out the help a foreign government gives its producers.
In short, glass fibre from Egypt keeps facing an extra charge at the EU border. Every shipment of these goods from Egypt that enters the EU now falls under the new regulation.
What is changing for Egyptian glass fibre?
The regulation covers continuous filament glass fibre products, known in the trade as GFR1. These are long, thin strands of glass used to make other materials stronger. The duty applies to goods that originate in Egypt1.
The key phrase is definitive countervailing duty. Here "definitive" means the duty is a final measure, not a temporary one set while a case is still open. The Egyptian goods will pay it at the EU border.
The regulation carries the Commission reference C/2026/64732. It appeared in the Official Journal of the European Union, the EU’s legal gazette, on Sept. 23, 20262. The EUR-Lex database, which publishes EU law, lists the act as in force2.
Why did the Commission review the Egypt duty?
The regulation follows an expiry review1. An expiry review is a check the Commission makes when a trade duty is about to end. It asks whether the unfair help to exporters would return if the duty stopped.
The review was carried out under Article 18 of Regulation (EU) 2016/10371. That regulation is the EU law on imports that receive subsidies from countries outside the EU. A subsidy here means money or other support a government gives its producers.
Because this was an expiry review, the duty on Egyptian glass fibre is not new. The Commission has decided to keep an existing charge in place. For buyers of Egyptian glass fibre, the extra cost at the border therefore continues.
How much duty do shipments from Egypt pay?
The published opening part of the regulation does not state the duty rate. It also does not name the Egyptian producers covered, or any rate for each company. The rate for each supplier sits in the full text of the regulation.
The full title of the act gives the key facts. It imposes the duty on GFR "originating in Egypt" after the expiry review1. The document number to quote is Regulation (EU) 2026/21072.
A separate duty also applies to the same goods. On April 15, 2026, the Commission imposed an anti-dumping duty on glass fibre from Egypt, Bahrain and Thailand3. An anti-dumping duty is an extra import tax on goods sold abroad below their normal price.
Does the April anti-dumping duty still apply?
The April duty is a different measure from the new regulation. It targets low prices, while the new one targets government subsidies. Nothing in the new regulation shows that it replaces the April duty.
Two EU duties on Egyptian glass fibre
| Question | April anti-dumping duty | September countervailing duty |
|---|---|---|
| What it targets | Low (dumped) prices | Government subsidies |
| Countries covered | Egypt, Bahrain and Thailand | Egypt |
| Date | April 15, 2026 | Sept. 22, 2026 |
The April anti-dumping duty set one rate for Egypt and one for Bahrain3. For Thailand, it set a range of rates3.
The Commission said that investigation found glass fibre from the three countries entering the EU at dumped prices3. It said this was harming the EU glass fibre industry3. A shipment from Egypt can therefore face two separate extra charges at the border.
Where is glass fibre from Egypt used?
The Commission calls continuous filament glass fibre an important industrial input3. Makers use it to strengthen other materials. It goes into many products, including these:
- blades for wind turbines
- car parts
- boats and other marine structures
- pipes
- electrical insulating materials
These products serve the car, energy, building and electronics sectors3. The Commission links them to the EU’s plans for cleaner energy and digital industry. Higher costs for the glass fibre can pass down to makers of these goods.
The EU uses about one million tonnes of this glass fibre each year3. Of this, about 200,000 tonnes come from Egypt, Bahrain and Thailand together3. The EU industry that makes it employs 2,500 to 3,000 people, notably in Belgium and Slovakia3.
How does the Egypt case fit the wider glass fibre dispute?
The Commission has taken several trade steps on glass fibre. In March 2025 it imposed anti-dumping duties on glass fibre yarns from China4. Those duties were set as a range of rates4.
EU trade steps on glass fibre
In that notice, the Commission said earlier investigations found strong evidence of Chinese subsidies4. It said these subsidies reached exporting producers in China and abroad through the Belt and Road Initiative4. The notice did not name Egypt in that passage.
The Commission also said it had seen efforts to get around EU duties4. It said this happened through new production set up in countries outside China. The Commission described the glass fibre sector as facing "significant Chinese overcapacity"4.
For Egyptian glass fibre, the practical effect is clear. The countervailing duty under Regulation 2026/2107 continues, and the anti-dumping duty from April sits alongside it. Each shipment from Egypt entering the EU after the Sept. 23 publication falls under the new act2.
Sources
- ↩ Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2107 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2026/2107/oj
- ↩ Implementing regulation – EU – 2026/2107 – EN – EUR-Lex. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L_202602107
- ↩ Commission acts against unfairly traded imports of glass fibre https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/news/commission-acts-against-unfairly-traded-imports-glass-fibre-2026-04-15_en
- ↩ EU imposes duties on dumped glass fibre yarns from China https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/news/eu-imposes-duties-dumped-glass-fibre-yarns-china-2025-03-19_en