China’s Ministry of Trade announced the introduction of tariffs between 15% and 62.4% on imports of pork from the EU.

Authorities in Beijing said in a statement that the duties, which came into effect from 10 September, are being imposed due to the dumping of pork and pork by-products imported from the European Union.

The ministry produced a company-by-company list of tariffs with Irish exporters Rosderra and Dawn Pork and Bacon being hit with 20%, towards the lower end of the range of measures announced. According to the announcement, this was due to the companies’ co-operation with the official investigation. Last year, Ireland exported more than €100m of pigmeat products to China, down from a peak of €202m seen in 2020 as the Asian nation dealt with the effects of an outbreak of African swine fever.

Initially, the tariffs will be imposed by way of a security deposit payable on all imports from 10 September.

China had launched the anti-dumping investigation in June of last year, saying it was in response to complaints from the domestic pork industry.

However, the 2024 EU investigation into electric vehicle (EV) imports from China, followed by the imposition of tariffs of up to 37.6% in early July this year, is seen as a direct catalyst for the Chinese trade probe. The EU allowed a four-month period for further negotiations following the imposition, meaning that there might be room for movement from both sides.

Dairy investigation

As well as the investigation into pork products and one into imports of EU brandy, China also launched a probe into subsidies paid to EU dairy farmers and whether that was leading to dumping on the country’s market.

That was launched in August of 2024, focussing on cheese and some fresh milk products, with results expected within 12 months. In October 2024, authorities in China said it had collected samples from FrieslandCampina, France’s Elvir and Sterilgarda Almenti in Italy, as it progressed the investigation.

In recent weeks, China announced that it would be extending release of the results of the investigation by six months, citing the complexity of the task. This means that the result is not now due until February of next year.

The announcement of the tariffs on pork can be seen as China sending a message to the EU that it will respond to EU tariffs on its EV exports with measures of its own. There is little chance that EU pork exports to China meet the definition of “dumping” under World Trade Organisation rules, so the move may be unwound as part of talks over EV tariffs.

China has the dairy investigation in its back pocket as part of those negotiations too, suggesting there are some moves left before this particular trade dispute is settled.