Beijing imposed a new round of tariffs on the EU’s food sector on Monday, announcing temporary duties on some dairy products, including various types of cheese, milk and cream, from Tuesday.
Following five-year duties of up to 19.8% on EU pork imports that kicked in last week, the Chinese commerce ministry has now applied provisional trade restrictions on dairy after launching an anti-subsidy investigation into EU financial support for farmers in August 2024.
The new duties range from 21.9% to 42.7%, though the final decision will be made only after the probe concludes in February.
The measures are the latest step in a widening trade dispute between Brussels and Beijing, as both sides increasingly use tariffs and investigations to pressure the other.
The inquiry seeks to determine whether subsidies granted under CAP, as well as payments by EU countries, including rewards for environmental practices or targeted support for young farmers, have distorted competition and harmed Chinese dairy producers.
Chinese authorities said preliminary findings from an investigation launched last year show links between EU subsidies and damage to their domestic dairy industry.
Some well-known European cheese producers – including Italy’s Zanetti, France’s dairy giant Lactalis, and Denmark’s Arla – have been hit with tariffs of 28.9%, avoiding the blanket 42% applied to all other EU companies not named in China’s temporary ruling.
These investigations, alongside a third one on European brandy, which has faced five-year tariffs of up to 34.9% since the summer, are widely seen as retaliation for the EU’s tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles imposed in January.
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