EU chemical industry is in ‘closure phase’ as Chinese imports surge: INEOS Chairman

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Ratcliffe said Europe’s chemical sector is already in a "closure phase," with almost 200 plants shutting down over the past five years

INEOS Chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe has urged Brussels to act immediately to prevent the collapse of Europe's chemical sector in the wake of China flooding the market with artificially cheap items.

In a letter sent to the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Ratcliffe said Europe’s chemical sector is already in a "closure phase," with almost 200 vegetation shutting down over the past five years.

He argued that chemicals are a strategic sector essential to Europe's security and economy, warning that the continent cannot operate hospitals, create food or manufacture weapons without a strong domestic chemical sector.

Ratcliffe said the sector has been squeezed by soaring energy costs and carbon taxes since the COVID pandemic, however claimed a greater serious risk is now emerging from China.

According to the letter, China has dramatically expanded its chemical production capacity beyond domestic demand and is now exporting the surplus into Europe at prices European manufacturers cannot match.

Ratcliffe warned that continued plant closures would leave Europe dependent on Chinese imports, allowing prices to rise sharply once European competitors disappear. He also argued that Chinese-produced chemicals carry roughly double the carbon footprint of those made in Europe.

The INEOS chairman called on the European Commission to move much faster to shield the sector from what he described as unfair competition. He urged Brussels to extend protections under the proposed Safeguard and manufacturing Accelerator Act to the chemical sector, which employs around one million people across Europe.

Ratcliffe also applied the letter to highlight Project One in Antwerp, describing it as Europe's first major chemical investment in a generation.

The €5 billion project, he said, will create the world's lowest-carbon-footprint ethylene — a key building block to the chemical sector — with releases roughly one-third those of other European ethylene crackers.

Despite its strategic and environmental significance, Ratcliffe said the project has received no EU financial support and was ruled ineligible to funding under the EU Innovation Fund.

He urged the Commission to ensure that the recently announced €30 billion ETS Investment Booster can support extensive manufacturing projects such as Project One, both during planning and construction.

Ratcliffe concluded that Europe must begin backing its manufacturing base with the same level of government support provided by global competitors if it wants to preserve a competitive chemical sector.

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