Structures of “Eurochem” filed a lawsuit in the Court of Justice of the European Union with a demand to annul the EU decision to impose anti-dumping duties on imports of nitrogen fertilizers, RBC writes.
They were first introduced in 2019 following an anti-dumping investigation. In January this year, the European Commission extended the measure (Regulation No. 2026/65). The EC set a different amount of duty for each supplier. For Russian companies it ranges from €27.77 to €42.47 per ton of product in addition to the current rate of 6.5%. The regulation is designed for five years.
The claim to the EU was filed by two structures of Eurochem – Nevinnomyssky Azot and NAC Azot. The applicants make four arguments in it.
- In their opinion, the procedure for reviewing the measure was conducted without a thorough and impartial examination of the case. The EC did not prove that dumping by Russian producers would continue after the duties were lifted.
- The Commission used incorrect data from the consolidated competitors’ request (Fertilizers Europe) and incorrectly conducted the anti-dumping analysis.
- Russian companies did not have access to key data to protect their interests. Some of the materials were excessively redacted, including the competitors’ request itself.
- The plaintiffs also insist that the EC changed the methodology for calculating dumping compared to previous investigations, but did not explain the reasons or indicate what circumstances had changed.
Lawyers interviewed by RBC note that Eurochem has successfully challenged anti-dumping duties many times before. But now they assess the chances of success with restraint. On the one hand, practice shows that the European court is not closed to Russian companies and is able to overturn the commission’s decisions if it sees a methodological error.
On the other hand, the political context has changed in recent years, which reduces the plaintiffs’ chances. These companies did not contribute to the EU investigation in 2024-2025, which also makes it difficult to challenge the European Commission’s decisions.
