TESSENDERLO, Belgium — The European Commission is preparing new measures to prop up the EU’s chemicals industry as a wave of cheap Chinese imports pushes the sector to the brink.
EU leaders will discuss a Commission effort to curb the Chinese supply glut at a summit on June 18–19. But the Brussels machinery moves slowly, and drawing up measures could take months, or even years — time Europe’s chemical manufacturers say they don’t have.
“The whole chemical industry is bleeding,” said Rudy Miller, vice president of Belgian chemicals business Vynova. “It’s industrial suicide.”
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Vynova used to be Europe’s second-largest producer of polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, a versatile plastic used in plumbing, floor tiles, wire insulation and medical devices.
