China declared on Monday that it would impose temporary tariffs on ‘certain dairy products’ imported from the European Union, escalating a trade dispute that covers agricultural goods to electric vehicles.
The decision follows China’s anti-subsidy investigation, launched in August 2024, into dairy products imported from the bloc.
“Currently, preliminary evidence indicates that imported dairy products originating from the EU are subsidized, causing substantial injury to the relevant domestic industry in China, and that there is a causal link between the subsidies and the substantial injury,” a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce said.
The Commerce Ministry revealed that ‘duty deposits’ ranging from 21.9% to 42.7% will be imposed starting Tuesday. The tariffs will apply to various dairy products, including fresh and processed cheese, curd, and blue cheese, as well as certain milk and cream items.
This represents the newest escalation in the ongoing trade dispute between the two economies.
According to the commerce ministry, initial results indicate that EU subsidies are causing significant harm to China’s domestic dairy sector.
Meanwhile, the anti-subsidy investigation, initiated in August 2024 following a request from the Dairy Association of China, is scheduled to conclude in February 2026.
The Ministry of Commerce introduced the new tariffs in September under what it describes as a ‘preliminary ruling’ in its anti-dumping investigation.
The EU dairy tariffs come just a week after Beijing introduced five-year anti-dumping duties on EU pork imports. These duties, which took effect on December 17, range from 4.9% to 19.8%, down from the temporary levies of 15.6% to 62.4% that had been applied since September.
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