China has escalated its trade dispute with the European Union by imposing provisional anti-dumping duties of up to 62.4% on pork imports worth over $2 billion from the bloc. The move is widely seen as retaliation for EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and marks a significant worsening of trade tensions between the two economic powers.
The Ministry of Commerce announced the decision on Friday, stating its preliminary investigation into pork products “found evidence of dumping that damaged the domestic industry.” The new duties, which will take effect on September 10, were approved following the investigation launched in June last year.
The tariffs will hit major EU producers, particularly in Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark. Companies that collaborated with the investigation, among them Spanish, Danish and Dutch firms, received duties ranging from 15.6% to 32.7%. All other firms were assigned the maximum rate of 62.4%.
The European Commission immediately pushed back against the move, with a spokesperson saying the investigation was based on “questionable allegations and insufficient evidence.” The spokesperson added: “But I can categorically assure you that we will take all the necessary steps to defend our producers and industry.”
The decision represents a setback for producers who had hoped Beijing’s decision to extend the investigation for six months in June meant a deal over the bloc’s electric vehicle tariffs was imminent. The move is particularly damaging for EU exporters as a significant portion of pork shipments to China consists of offal – including pig ears, noses and feet – that are highly valued in Chinese cuisine but have few alternative markets.
Anne Richard, director of French pork industry association INAPORC, expressed concern: “This is worrying news for us. We’re concerned about the impact this will have on prices on the European market.”
The duties are preliminary and could theoretically be changed when the investigation concludes in December. However, analysts are pessimistic about the prospects for a negotiated solution. Even Rogers Pay, an analyst at Beijing-based Trivium China who specialises in agriculture, said with just a few months left the odds of finding a negotiated solution were “increasingly slim.”
The pork investigation is one of several trade measures China has launched against EU exports, including anti-subsidy cases looking into dairy products and anti-dumping measures on brandy. Beijing has pressed Brussels to replace its EV tariffs with a similar price commitment by China-based producers, but negotiations have so far failed to yield an agreement.
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