China decided to open an anti-dumping investigation on pork imports from the European Union, in a move widely considered as retaliatory against the proposed hike in tariffs against Chinese-made electric vehicles (EV).
The EU recently announced that following a preliminary investigation, it was raising tariffs on Chinese EV from 17.4% to 38.1% according to the company. The EU accuses China unfair competition as it grants subsidies for its companies. The new tariffs should come into effect on July 4th but can be dropped later.
There was a widespread fear that China would have retaliate with a 25% hike in import tariff on gasoline-powered vehicles, hitting especially the German car sector. However, China moved against the pork industry, where half of the European imports came from Spain.
The investigation is supposed to last one year with a possible six-month extension and will cover fresh and frozen pork meat, intestines and other internal organs. The EU said that it will follow closely the investigation, with the European Commission ready to intervene to ensure it follows the guidelines of World Trade Organization (WTO).
European Commissioner spokesperson Olof Gill added that farm subsidies “are strictly in line with our WTO obligations.” Also, the Spanish pork industry association Interporc offered its collaboration to ensure a swift investigation.
China started importing pork from the EU in high numbers in 2020 after a swine disease decimated local production. Imports peaked that year at 7.4 billion euros before slowing down to 2.5 billion euros last year.
