ANFACER - National Association of Ceramic Tile Manufacturers for Floor and Wall Tiles, Sanitary Ware and the Like
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This Monday (the 9th), the 2026 edition of the World Ceramic Tiles Forum (WCTF)—the leading multilateral platform for exchange in the ceramic tile industry—kicked off. Representing Brazilian manufacturers, Anfacer participated in the discussions focused on competitiveness, market access, and the global regulatory environment.
The opening session featured an institutional welcome and was moderated by Raul Carnicer, accompanied by Susana Picado, standards coordinator at INTECO (Costa Rican Institute of Technical Standards). Next, the WCTF secretariat presented an overview of global production and consumption of ceramic tiles, followed by a detailed technical session on the main challenges facing foreign trade.
Among the highlights of the trade panel, members analyzed the growing instability of the global landscape, characterized by the proliferation of technical barriers and a significant surge in the use of trade defense instruments. Data from the World Trade Organization (WTO) revealed a significant concentration of these measures: investigations and tariffs imposed on exports from China (38%) and India (23%), with particular emphasis on recent investigations and measures adopted by markets such as the United States, Mexico, Vietnam, South Africa, and the Philippines.
The agenda also addressed recent regulatory barriers in strategic markets—such as new certification and labeling requirements in Saudi Arabia and Oman, additional tariffs imposed by the United States, and safeguard measures in Indonesia—as well as the progress of WTO reform and tariff harmonization under the Harmonized System (HS 6907). In terms of opportunities, the developments in Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations were examined, with an emphasis on the provisional application of the European Union–Mercosur agreement and its impact on bilateral trade in the ceramics sector.
In the second half of the proceedings, the delegations began presenting their reports on the national economic situation and trends in the construction industry. Representatives from Brazil, the European Union, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, China, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United States delivered their official presentations. Argentina’s presentation, which was rescheduled due to changes in the agenda, will take place on this second day of activities.
The WCTF 2026 program continues this Tuesday (the 10th) with in-depth discussions on sustainability, decarbonization, international standardization within the ISO/TC 189 framework, and the impacts of the gas and energy markets on industrial competitiveness.
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