Brazil GECEX Resolução nº 802/2025 — Definitive Anti-Dumping Duty on Rutile-Type Titanium Dioxide Pigments from China

Mechanism

Resolução GECEX nº 802, de 23 de outubro de 2025, was published in the Diário Oficial da União on 24 October 2025 and entered into force on that date. It applies definitive anti-dumping duties for up to five years on rutile-type titanium dioxide pigments — the dominant commercial grade of TiO2, valued for superior opacity and UV resistance — classified under NCM/Mercosur subitem 3206.11.10, with a minimum TiO2 content of 80%, originating in or exported from China.

The investigation was conducted by DECOM (Departamento de Defesa Comercial) under the Ministério do Desenvolvimento, Indústria, Comércio e Serviços (MDIC/SECEX). DECOM's final determination found that Chinese producers were exporting below normal value and that dumped imports caused material injury to the Brazilian domestic industry (the domestic petitioner is understood to be Venator Brazil / Millennium Chemicals' Brazilian successor or equivalent domestic producer).

Duty schedule (specific tariffs, USD per metric tonne):

The specific-tariff form insulates the measure against currency depreciation that would erode an ad-valorem duty's protective effect — consistent with GECEX practice for commodity-input AD measures (cf. GECEX 778/2025 on polyester fibres).

Public-interest review (ongoing as of March 2026): Circular SECEX nº 21 of 26 March 2026 (DOU 27 March 2026) opened a formal avaliação de interesse público on the TiO2 measure. Under Brazilian AD law (Lei nº 9.019/1995), a positive public-interest finding can result in suspension or reduction of the duty if the protective burden on downstream industries (e.g., paints, coatings, plastics, paper) outweighs the benefit to domestic producers. The review was still open as of the filing date.

Context: titanium dioxide supply chain

Rutile-type TiO2 is the dominant pigment grade in global commerce, used in paints and architectural coatings (~55% of end-use), plastics (~25%), paper (~10%), and specialty applications. China accounts for roughly 40–45% of global TiO2 capacity, with dominant players including Lomon Billions, CNNC Hua Yuan, and Shandong Doguide. The Brazilian market has historically relied on imports from both Chinese producers and European/US suppliers (Tronox, Venator, Chemours). This measure targets the Chinese cost-advantaged tier specifically.

This is the third major jurisdiction to apply AD duties on Chinese rutile TiO2 in the 2024–2025 cycle:

• EU — Definitive AD duties (December 2024): 2024-12-17-eu-titanium-dioxide-china-antidumping-definitive
• India — Definitive AD duty (February 2025): 2025-02-12-india-dgtr-titanium-dioxide-china-antidumping-final
• Brazil — This measure (October 2025)

The near-simultaneous multi-jurisdictional pile-on reflects China's aggressive capacity expansion in TiO2 and the global petitioner network among non-Chinese producers.

Downstream implications

• Importers of Chinese TiO2 in Brazil face landed-cost increases of USD 1,148–1,268/tonne on top of existing import tariffs — materially shifting cost competitiveness toward European and US-origin supply.
• Brazilian downstream sectors (paints: Tintas Coral/Sherwin-Williams BR; plastics compounders) that rely on lower-cost Chinese TiO2 face input-cost pressure; the public-interest review is their formal channel to contest the measure.
• The GECEX 850/2026 exclusion of Siegwerk Druckfarben — a German specialty inks/coatings company with Chinese manufacturing — signals that well-documented product-differentiation arguments can narrow the measure's scope post-imposition.
• China's TiO2 exporters face a progressive market-access closure in three major EM/DM markets simultaneously; trade diversion into ASEAN, MENA and Sub-Saharan Africa is the probable supply-side response.

Open questions

• Public-interest outcome: Circular SECEX nº 21/2026 may suspend or modify the duty from mid-2026; watch for a DECOM final determination.
• Named-producer rates: the full annex of GECEX 802/2025 listing individual Chinese producers and their company-specific rates is available in the DOU; confirm the tier split and any additional named exclusions.
• Sunset review: the five-year clock runs through approximately October 2030; watch for DECOM-initiated reviews from 2028.
• WTO notification: Brazil is obligated to notify the AD measure to the WTO Antidumping Committee.