Beijing (AFP) – China will impose anti-dumping duties on European Union pork imports for five years, but at lower rates than temporary levies in place since September, Beijing announced Tuesday. The two sides have been locked in a trade spat fueled by what many European countries view as an unbalanced economic relationship with China.
The levies come after a probe launched by China last year concluded that European pork imports “were being dumped, and the domestic industry suffered substantial damages” as a result, the commerce ministry said in a statement Tuesday. The duties will range from 4.9 percent to 19.8 percent—down from temporary levies of 15.6 percent to 62.4 percent—and will be applied from December 17, it said.
“At present, the domestic industry is facing difficulties, and there are strong calls for protection,” a commerce ministry spokesperson said. They added that the investigation’s conclusions were “objective, fair, and impartial.” The two are key trading partners, with the EU running a trade deficit of more than $350 billion with China in 2024.
French President Emmanuel Macron said this month that Europe would consider adopting strong measures against China—including tariffs—if the trade imbalance was not addressed. The current trade spat erupted last summer when the EU moved towards imposing hefty tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, arguing that Beijing’s subsidies were unfairly undercutting European competitors. Beijing denied that claim and announced what were widely seen as retaliatory probes into imported European pork, brandy, and dairy products.
China—the world’s leading consumer of pork—imported 4.3 billion yuan ($600 million) in pork products from major producer Spain alone last year, according to official Chinese customs data. France, meanwhile, exported 115,000 tonnes of pork to China in 2024, according to industry association Inaporc.
According to the new measures, Groupe Bigard, a major French pork producer, will be charged 9.8 percent, while Danish Crown will be hit with an 18.6 percent levy. European producers criticized the imposition of temporary duties on pork in September, denying the dumping allegations. They argued that Chinese consumers pay more than Europeans for products that the latter often ignore, such as pigs’ trotters or ears.
Alongside trade frictions, China and the EU are at odds on issues such as Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The EU has urged China to exert pressure on Moscow to end the war, but Beijing has shown no sign of acceding.
© 2024 AFP
