EU Finalizes Anti-Dumping Duty on Lysine Imports From China

Europe’s sole producer of the amino acid said the duties, ranging from 48 percent to 58 percent, encourage production within the bloc.

Cows eat at a farm in Mesnil-Aubert, western France on Feb. 25, 2010. Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images

The European Union has finalized its anti-dumping duty on Chinese imports of lysine, an amino acid found in animal feed, pharmaceuticals, and food supplements.

The definitive duties on lysine products imported from China range between 47.7 percent and 58.2 percent, the European Commission said on July 11.

The EU’s anti-dumping duties generally last for five years, and the bloc can extend the measures or end them early following reviews.

The final duty schedule replaces provisional duties the Commission announced in January, which ranged between 58.3 percent and 84.8 percent, depending on which exporter the products came from.

The EU’s decision to impose anti-dumping duties on lysine products came on the heels of a 2024 investigation that found imports of the products from China “were harming EU industry,” the commission said.

The investigation was triggered by a complaint from the bloc’s sole lysine producer, French company Metex Noovistago, which has since been renamed Eurolysine and acquired by the agro-industrial multinational Avril.

“The duties imposed today should help EU lysine makers to compete on a more equal footing with their Chinese counterparts,” the commission said.

According to a statement published in January by the European Feed Manufacturers’ Federation, 60 percent of the EU’s lysine is imported from China.

The industry group cautioned that high tariffs may disrupt the bloc’s lysine supplies, while urging the Commission to recognize essential amino acids and vitamins as “critical materials.”

It also voiced support for measures to boost EU producers and reduce strategic dependence on China.

The United States is also highly dependent on China for amino acids. According to a note published in May by the American Feed Industry Association, China controls a large portion of the global amino acid supply chain, including 77 percent of lysine, 91 percent of threonine, 84 percent of valine, and 27 percent of methionine.

Following the EU’s announcement, Eurolysine CEO Eddy Feijen said the measure encouraged the company to speed up its production of lysine.

“The introduction of anti-dumping duties for 5 years opens up medium-term prospects that encourage us in our production development plan. By the second half of 2025, our Amiens plant will have returned to its cruising speed for lysine production, and we are currently working to increase lysine production capacity by 20% by 2027,” Feijen said in a statement.

Jean-Philippe Puig, CEO of Avril, also welcomed the measure, saying the group aims to “preserve and develop an activity that is strategic for European sovereignty and the future of the animal feed industry.”