On Friday 5 September, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced that it was imposing a provisional anti-dumping duty on pork and pork products originating from the European Union. China opened an investigation in June 2024 (see EUROPE 13433/20), suspecting that the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy gave a comparative advantage to European pork producers.
The provisional findings of the investigation confirm this allegation, according to the Chinese ministry. Beijing has therefore imposed provisional tariffs on European pork and pork by-products from 10 September.
For the companies sampled, the rate varies between 15.6% and 32.7%. Other companies that cooperated with the survey are subject to the 20% tariff. Finally, all other European companies will be subject to the very high rate of 62.4%. The Copa-Cogeca agricultural organisations fear consequences beyond direct exporters and deplore growing pressure on European pork markets.
The European Commission reacted the same day by questioning the relevance of the investigation. “According to our analysis, this investigation is based on dubious allegations and insufficient evidence”, said trade spokesperson, Olof Gill. He reiterated that the Commission would take the necessary measures to protect its industry.
In 2024, this investigation came just days after the announcement that the EU was going to impose a provisional countervailing duty on Chinese electric vehicles (see EUROPE 13430/1). Since then, this European tariff has been made definitive, and China has targeted other European products in return, such as brandy.
See the rates for European exporters: https://aeur.eu/f/iac (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)