European Union opens anti-dumping investigation into Chinese mobile cranes

European parliament in Brussels, Belgium (Image: artjazz via AdobeStock - stock.adobe.com)

Liebherr, Manitowoc, Sennebogen and Tadano filed the complaint in November via the VDMA, a German association of 3,600 German and European mechanical and plant engineering companies.

Through the VDMA’s Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association, they called for an urgent investigation, labelling the situation “manifestly unfair”.

Now the European Commission has responded by officially launching an anti-dumping investigation.

It will examine concerns that Chinese mobile cranes are being sold in the EU at artificially low prices.

The case focuses on mobile cranes designed for the lifting and moving of materials on land, with a lifting capacity of at least 30 tonnes, mounted on self-propelled vehicles.

Liebherr, Manitowoc, Sennebogen, and Tadano have provided evidence of “material injury caused by predatory pricing and unfair advantages enjoyed by Chinese exporters”, according to the VDMA.

The VDMA listed government subsidies, manipulated raw material costs, preferential tax schemes, and favourable financing deals as the advantages that Chinese firms benefit from.

Its complaint also highlighted an “exponential” increase in Chinese crane imports to the EU, warning that it threatens 7,000 direct jobs and tens of thousands more in the supply chain.

The investigation of dumping and injury will cover the period from 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025, while it will consider trends “relevant for the assessment of injury” from 1 January 2022 up to the end of the investigation period.

Interested parties can make written submissions to the investigation within 37 days of the publication of the European Commission’s notice (19 December 2025).

In a joint statement, the complainants said: “The European mobile crane sector welcomes the opening of an EU anti-dumping investigation, which marks a crucial step towards restoring a level playing field and safeguarding Europe’s industrial future. We are committed to working with the European Commission as this investigation proceeds and hope it will be followed by swift and decisive action to ensure a fair and competitive environment for future production and employment in Europe’s mobile crane manufacturing sector.”

News of the latest investigation follows the Commission’s announcement that it was imposing definitive anti-dumping duties on imports of Chinese mobile access equipment in April this year.

The anti-subsidy duties imposed to level the playing field range from 7.3% to 14.2% and come on top of anti-dumping duties imposed in imports of mobile access from China in January 2025. The total combined anti-dumping and countervailing duties now range between 20.6% and 66.7%.