The European Union has introduced permanent anti-dumping duties on Russian birch plywood from June this year. This is stated in a message in the Official Journal of the European Union. The decision was made following the consideration of complaints from European manufacturers.
Including a blow fell on the enterprises of Russian oligarchs Alexei Mordashov (owns the world's largest plywood producer Sveza) and Vladimir Yevtushenkov (through Segezha Group owns the Vyatka plywood mill) .
At the same time, the permanent duties were slightly lower than the temporary ones. For Sveza, their size decreased from 15.9 percent to 14.4 percent, and for the Vyatka Plywood Mill – from 15.7 percent to 14.85. With regard to the Syktyvkar plywood mill and the Zheshart timber complex, duties amounted to 15.72 percent and 15.8 percent, respectively.
A preliminary investigation by the European regulator showed that Russian companies constantly understated the price of exported goods. From 2017 to 2021, it decreased by almost ten percent – from 646 to 584 euros per ton.
The issue of replacing temporary duties with permanent ones was considered at a meeting of the Committee on Trade Protection Instruments of the European Commission in mid-October. Then the decision was not made, but Russian companies considered it very likely.
Sveza did not rule out that they would challenge this decision in the courts, and also stressed that they would shift their costs to European consumers. The company does not fear for market share, as it estimates the market as very scarce.
In July, the Russian Association of Wooden Housing Construction complained about a shortage of timber due to too large exports. At the same time, the organization considered the efforts taken by the authorities to be insufficient.