On Friday 13 February, the European Commission ruled that Chinese countervailing duties on certain European dairy products in China were “unwarranted and unjustified”.
Beijing has effectively implemented the final application of these additional tariffs, but has reduced them since the December announcement of the provisional duties, to between 7.4% and 11.7% (see EUROPE 13778/10).
Be that as it may, the Commission remains “firmly of the view that these investigations should not have happened in the first place because in our assessment the applications lacked sufficient evidence to justify the openings of such proceedings”, said the Commission’s spokesman on trade issues, Olof Gill.
He added that the Commission would now assess the implications of these new measures, reiterating its commitment to defending the legitimate interests of the EU dairy sector, “in accordance with international trade rules”.
The options are to take new measures within the WTO and to open a new formal investigation. More generally, the Commission expects “action from China on a number of fronts”, including unfair competition, dumping and market access. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)