China

• Reuters

• Published On Sep 6, 2025 at 03:13 PM IST

The decision is only preliminary and could theoretically be changed before the investigation ends in December.

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The Chinese commerce ministry has imposed anti-dumping measures on imports from the European Union, deepening trade tensions which spiked when the bloc imposed tariffs on China-made electric vehicles.

In July, the EU introduced provisional tariffs of up to 37.6 per cent on China-made EVs describing their imports as a potential flood of unfairly subsidised EVs.

Below are details on China’s multiple probes into EU industries:

China announced on Friday duties as high as 62.4 per cent on EU pork imports after its Ministry of Commerce said a preliminary investigation had found evidence of dumping that damaged the domestic industry.

The anti-dumping duties were set to begin on September 10, and companies that collaborated with the investigation, among them Spanish, Danish and Dutch firms, received reduced duties ranging from 15.6 per cent to 32.7 per cent. The decision is only preliminary and could theoretically be changed before the investigation ends in December.

A European Commission spokesperson said on Friday that China’s investigation was based on “questionable allegations, insufficient evidence” and not in line with World Trade Organization rules.

China imported $4.8 billion worth of pork in 2024 – over half of it from the EU, with Spain leading the bloc in exports by volume.

The Chinese commerce ministry imposed duties of up to 34.9 per centon EU brandy producers from July 5, 2025 and for a period of five years.

It however spared major cognac producers Pernod Ricard, LVMH and Remy Cointreau by giving exceptions to brands selling at an undisclosed minimum price.

The French cognac industry generates global exports of $3 billion a year combined and makes up almost all of China’s EU brandy imports.

China’s commerce ministry said in a statement on Saturday that 34 firms secured agreements for minimum price commitments instead of tariffs.

In August, China extended its anti-subsidy investigation into European Union dairy imports by six months to February 21, 2026, one front in a wider trade war with Brussels and Washington.

China’s Ministry of Commerce prolonged the period citing the complexity of the case, which covers some EU cheese, milk and cream products. In March, China also lifted some restrictions on imports of German milk and dairy products over foot-and-mouth disease.

In May, Beijing announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 per cent on imports of POM copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from the United States, the European Union, Japan and Taiwan.

According to the announcement, the highest anti-dumping rates of 74.9 per cent were levied on imports from the United States, while European shipments were set to face duties of 34.5 per cent.

In August, China extended anti-dumping duties on phenol imports from the US, the European Union, South Korea, Japan and Thailand for five years.