China has announced tariffs on pork products from the EU, as its anti-dumping investigation concludes, but at lower rates than had been provisionally imposed in September.
China initiated the investigation in June 2024 in response to tariffs imposed by the EU on Chinese electric vehicles.
China’s Ministry of Commerce announced on Tuesday that it will impose tariffs of between 4.9% and 19.8% on pork imports from EU for a five-year period starting on Wednesday.
While this is still a blow to the EU pork sector, the final tariffs are significantly lower than the ‘initial’ tariffs of between 15.6% and 62.4% imposed in a preliminary decision in September. Importers will now receive a refund on the difference between the rates paid since September, according to Reuters
The anti-dumping probe, which was extended this summer after taking more than a year to reach a conclusion, was focused on a small number of Spanish, Danish and Dutch firms.
Reuters also reports that there was a mixed reaction to the long-awaited announcement, some people within the European pork industry expressing relief that the tariffs are not higher, but warning that they would still hurt.
Responding to the announcement, the European Commission described China’s investigation as ‘based on questionable allegations and insufficient evidence’. It vowed to defend EU farmers and exporters against what it called China’s ‘abusive use of trade defence instruments’. The commission said it was ‘carefully assessing all the information available against compliance with WTO rules’.
China imported $4.8 billion worth of pork, including offal, in 2024, with more than half of it from the EU, led by Spain, which is currently trading with Spain on a regionalised basis due to its ASF outbreak. China accounted for 17.6% of EU pork exports last year, the second highest behind the UK, which imported a 29.7% share, according to Spanish government data, Reuters adds.