China imposes anti-dumping measures on EU products

China responded to the European Union’s imposition of tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) in 2024 by initiating several retaliatory measures targeting products imported from the bloc. 

The EU justified its tariffs on Chinese EVs by citing an investigation that concluded Chinese EV manufacturers undercut European competitors.

China’s trade dispute with the EU evolves

The Chinese commerce ministry finally hit back against China by imposing anti-dumping measures on imports from the European Union, making trade tensions worse.

The anti-dumping measures will affect multiple EU industries and imports ranging from pork to brandy and even plastic.

Where pork is concerned, China’s Ministry of Commerce reportedly had a preliminary investigation that found evidence of dumping that damaged the domestic industry. As a result, it has announced duties as high as 62.4% on EU pork imports.

The anti-dumping duties will be enforced from September 10, and companies that participated in the investigation, among them Spanish, Danish, and Dutch firms, will get lesser duties ranging from 15.6% to 32.7%.

According to Reuters, this decision is still theoretically subject to change before the investigation officially ends in December.

A European Commission spokesperson on Friday criticized China’s investigation, claiming it was based on “questionable allegations, insufficient evidence” rather than World Trade Organization rules.

The Chinese commerce ministry also imposed duties of up to 34.9% on EU brandy producers, which will last five years starting in July.

However, major cognac producers like Pernod Ricard, LVMH, and Remy Cointreau were spared. Brands selling at an undisclosed minimum price were also exempted.

According to China’s commerce ministry, 34 firms secured agreements for minimum price commitments instead of tariffs.

Diary imports were also hit. In August, China extended its anti-subsidy investigation into European Union dairy imports by six months to February 21, 2026, citing the complexity of the case, which covers some EU cheese, milk, and cream products.

In May, Beijing announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9% 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% were levied on imports from the United States, while European shipments were set to face duties of 34.5%.

Scrutiny follows recent European tariffs that affected China’s EV sector

These measures are reportedly the Chinese government’s way of punishing the EU for introducing provisional tariffs of up to 37.6% on China-made electric vehicles (EVs).

It defended the move by claiming it was to safeguard against what it tagged a potential flood of unfairly subsidized EVs, an explanation China found insufficient.

The EU also took steps in March of the same year that allowed tariffs to be imposed retroactively.

“New energy vehicle exports currently face temporary pressure,” Cui Dongshu, secretary general at the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), said on Monday. New energy vehicles (NEVs) are an umbrella term for electric cars and plug-in hybrids.

“Our (NEV export) growth used to be at least 30-40%, and it has slowed to only more than 10%, meaning (the tariffs) had a 20-30 percentage point impact on (NEV export growth), a conspicuous short-term impact,” Cui added.

His statement came after the CPCA reported that China’s domestic car sales had fallen for the third month running in June. NEV exports rose 12.3% year-on-year in the month, but were down 15.2% from May, with NEV exports accounting for 21% of total car exports, down 3 percentage points from June 2023.

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