China on Friday imposed preliminary anti-dumping duties of up to 62.4% on pork imports worth more than $2 billion from the European Union, escalating a trade dispute triggered by Brussels’ tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
The Ministry of Commerce said a preliminary investigation found evidence that pork products from the bloc had been dumped in China, causing damage to the domestic industry. The duties will take effect on September 10.
Firms that cooperated with the probe, including companies from Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands, were assigned tariffs ranging from 15.6% to 32.7%, while all others face the maximum 62.4%.
The investigation, launched in June last year, is widely viewed as Beijing’s retaliation for EU measures against Chinese EVs and strikes at some of the bloc’s largest pork producers. Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands are among the hardest hit.
A large share of the EU’s pork exports to China consists of offal such as pig ears, snouts and feet cuts prized in Chinese cuisine but with limited alternative markets.
The decision disappointed producers who had hoped Beijing’s move in June to extend the probe by six months signalled room for a deal on EV tariffs. Analysts now say prospects for a negotiated solution are slim.
“The investigation was extended through December earlier this year, but that only leaves a few months to find a negotiated solution. The odds of that are increasingly slim,” said Even Rogers Pay, an agriculture analyst at Beijing-based consultancy Trivium China.
The ministry said in a separate statement that it remained open to resolving trade tensions with the EU through dialogue and consultation.
The investigation is scheduled to conclude in December but could be prolonged, as China has done in previous disputes, including with Canadian canola.
