EU registers Chinese Pekin duck imports for possible retroactive duties

Importers bringing Pekin duck meat from China into the Union must expect their consignments to be registered at the borderEuropa. Under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2118Europa, customs authorities in every Member State are directed to register imports of Pekin duck meatEuropa originating in the People's Republic of ChinaEuropa. Registration creates no duty liability by itself; its purpose is to preserve the option of levying anti-dumping duties retroactively on the registered imports, from the date of registration, if the conditions for retroactive collection are metEuropa.

The registration covers meat of Pekin duck in every presentation: whole birds and cuts, fresh, chilled, frozen, salted, in brine, dried or smoked, with bones or boneless, and other prepared or preserved meat. The regulation lists the customs classification concerned — CN codes ex 0207 41 20 through ex 1602 39 85, with the corresponding TARIC subheadings — and applies only to product originating in the People's Republic of ChinaEuropa.

Registration was imposed on the Commission's own initiative under Article 14(5) of the basic anti-dumping Regulation (EU) 2016/1036Europa. It follows the anti-dumping proceeding the Commission opened on 9 July 2026Europa, after a complaint lodged on 26 May 2026 by five Union producers of Pekin duck representing more than 25 % of total Union production. Whether duties will actually be collected retroactively will be assessed in the regulation imposing definitive duties, if any; any future liability flows from the findings of the investigation, not from registration itself.

The complaint estimates dumping margins of between 132 % and 223 % and an injury elimination level of between 152 % and 210 % for the investigation period of 1 January to 31 December 2025. Under Article 9(4) of the basic Regulation, a future duty would normally be set at the lower of the dumping margin and the injury level. At this stage, however, the Commission states it is not in a position to estimate the amount of possible future liability, so the figures from the complaint are for information only and create no expectation as to the level of duty the investigation will establish.

Registration expires nine months after the regulation's entry into forceEuropa, and the regulation enters into force on the day following its publication in the Official JournalEuropa — publication took place on 25 September 2026Europa. Personal data collected in the course of registration is processed under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 on data protection by Union institutions.

Legal basis: Article 14(5) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036; the lesser-duty rule in Article 9(4) governs any future duty level; proceeding opened by notice C/2026/3584 of 9 July 2026; data processing under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.