China yesterday said it had launched an anti-dumping investigation into imports of pork products from the EU.
The probe is in response to an application submitted on behalf of domestic producers, Beijing said, and comes in the face of mounting trade tensions between China and the bloc.
“The Ministry of Commerce has opened an anti-dumping investigation into imports of relevant pork and pig by-products originating from the European Union,” the ministry said in a statement.
Photo: AFP
The announcement follows the bloc’s decision last week to slap additional tariffs of up to 38 percent on Chinese electric vehicle imports from next month after an anti-subsidy probe.
Beijing warned the tariffs would “harm Europe’s own interests” and condemned the bloc’s “protectionism,” while saying it “reserves the right” to file a suit with the WTO over the new EU tariffs.
Pork is China’s most popular meat and a diet staple in the world’s second-most populous nation.
Imports of pork and pork by-products from EU nations totaled more than US$3 billion last year, Chinese customs data showed.
China had ramped up threats that Beijing could target EU exports, including pork and dairy products, in the wake of the tariff announcement.
Spain is the EU’s largest exporter of pork and pork byproducts to China, data showed.
The ministry last week said that domestic industries “have the right” to request probes into imports to “protect their own legitimate rights and interests.”
Spanish Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Luis Planas yesterday said that he hoped there was room for understanding and negotiation to avoid tariffs being imposed.
Planas said he did not expect immediate measures after China said the investigation could last up to a year.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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