Khaberni - China announced on Monday that it will impose temporary tariffs on «some dairy products» imported from the European Union, in the latest chapters of a trade dispute that extends from food to electric vehicles.
The tariffs, ranging between 21.9% and 42.7%, will come into effect on Tuesday. They will affect a range of products including fresh and processed cheeses, blue cheese, certain kinds of milk and cream, and others, according to a statement by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
The Chinese authorities had opened an anti-subsidy investigation in August 2024, following a request from the Chinese Dairy Association.
While the investigation is scheduled to conclude in February, the Ministry of Commerce stated that the preliminary results linked the subsidies granted by the European Union to a "substantial injury" to the local dairy industry.
The European Union condemned the imposition of Chinese tariffs. The European Commission spokesman Olof Gill told reporters, "Our analysis is that this investigation is based on questionable allegations and insufficient evidence, thus the measures are unjustified and unfounded".
The dairy products tariffs come a week after Beijing announced anti-dumping duties on pork imports from the European Union for five years.
These tariffs have been effective since December 17 and range between 4.9% and 19.8%, down from the temporary tariffs which ranged from 15.6% to 62.4%, applied since September.
