China on Wednesday announced an anti-subsidy investigation into dairy products produced in the European Union – the latest move in retaliation to the bloc’s tariff increases on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs).
The products under investigation include fresh and processed cheese, as well as uncondensed milk and cream without added sugar or other sweeteners, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce (Mofcom).
The decision came after the EU revised down countervailing duties on Chinese EV producers a day earlier, to which Beijing still voiced strong opposition.
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The action on Wednesday followed Beijing’s announcement in June that it had launched an anti-dumping investigation on pork products imported from the EU.
In the first seven months of the year, China imported over US$315 million of affected dairy products from the EU, according to Chinese customs.
France was the top source, shipping products worth US$115 million in the period, with Italy second with US$43 million.
The investigation has been initiated in response to an application submitted on July 29 by the Dairy Association of China and China Dairy Industry Association – representatives of the domestic dairy industry – for an anti-subsidy investigation into imported dairy products from the EU.
Based on the application, Mofcom said, the investigation would cover 20 subsidies benefiting EU dairy industry and companies.
Seven fall under the EU’s common agricultural policy, and the remainder come from individual members.
The investigation covers imports from the start of April 2023 until the end of March, while the period for evaluating industrial damage starts from 2020 until the first quarter of 2023, Mofcom added.
Having started on Monday, the investigation should last no more than a year, but it could be extended for a further six months, the ministry added.
More to follow …
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