China said on Tuesday it will impose tariffs of up to 19.8 per cent on pork imports from the European Union, after concluding an “objective, fair and impartial” anti-dumping investigation.
The country’s Commerce Ministry said the final tariff rates of 4.9 per cent-19.8 per cent are due to take effect beginning Wednesday on all kind of pork products, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, pickled, smoked or salted, and will last for five years.
The ministry’s announcement followed an investigation launched into imports of pork from the trading bloc after the EU imposed provisional tariffs on China-made electric vehicles. It concluded that the EU was dumping pork and pig by-products in China, selling them at prices below production costs or domestic market prices, and harming China’s pork industry.
In September, China had ordered preliminary anti-dumping duties in the form of security deposits of 15.6 per cent to 32.7 per cent for pork imports from EU companies that collaborated with the anti-dumping investigation, and up to 62.4 per cent for all others.
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The trading bloc is a major exporter of pork and key supplier of byproducts such as ears, snouts, feet and other items considered to be delicacies in China.
Beijing has also levied anti-dumping duties on European brandy, most notably cognac produced in France, though major brandy producers have received exemptions. Imports of dairy products from the EU likewise were subject to anti-dumping probes.
While Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark will be the most affected, the EU’s massive trade deficit with China of over 300 billion euros ($348 billion) as of last year is expected to go up.
EU exports of pork products to China peaked at 7.4 billion euros ($7.9 billion) in 2020 when Beijing turned to imports to meet domestic demand after its pig farms were devastated by a swine disease. But it has reduced imports as it has rebuilt its herds.
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