China has imposed preliminary tariffs on EU dairy imports following an anti-dumping probe launched in August 2024.
“The investigating authorities have preliminarily determined that imported dairy products originating from the European Union were subsidised, causing substantial damage to the relevant dairy industry in China, and that there is a causal relationship between the subsidies and the substantial damage,” the Ministry of Commerce announced today (22 December).
China said the import tariffs will take effect tomorrow following a proposal submitted to the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council, which has agreed to impose “provisional anti-subsidy duty deposits”.
China kicked off its investigation in August last year to ascertain whether the EU was guilty of exporting dairy products to the Asian country at prices that put local producers at an unfair advantage.
The probe followed similar enquiries launched by China for pork and brandy shipped from the European trading bloc that commenced in June and January of 2024, respectively.
Last week, China went ahead and slapped import duties on EU pork for five years but at lower rates than the preliminary tariffs announced three months ago.
The Ministry of Commerce imposed duties ranging from 4.9% to 19.8% on EU pork and pork by-products. That anti-dumping probed stretched back to June 2024 and had widely been seen as tit-for-tat measures by China in retaliation for the European Commission’s decision to impose tariffs on imported Chinese battery electric vehicles (BEV).
In terms of EU dairy imports, China extended its anti-dumping investigation in August this year to February 2026.
The European Commission noted "concern" on China's imposition of tariffs, assessing the anti-dumping decision today as based on "questionable allegations" and "insufficient evidence".
It added the measures are "unjustified" and "unwarranted" ahead of China's definitive decision on the duties due on 21 February.
China said today the affected dairy products include fresh and processed cheeses, milk and cream.
“All interested parties may submit written comments to the investigating authority within 10 days from the date of this announcement,” the Ministry said today.
The tariffs will range from 21.9% to 42.7%, Reuters reported. The news agency added that Lurpak butter brand owner Arla Foods, headquartered in Denmark, will pay rates of 28.6% to 29.7%, while Netherlands-based FrieslandCampina will be hit with 42.7%.
Just Food asked the Danish Dairy Board for comment on behalf of Arla.
"The Danish Dairy Board will now look into the announcement regarding the provisory tariffs on specific dairy products from the EU to understand the details," it responded.
"In general, high tariffs and differentiated rates increase the complexity of international trade, so of course we still have a hope that the matter can be resolved without tariffs in the longer term."
FrieslandCampina said it "has taken note of the preliminary decision…and is committed to constructive interaction" with the Chinese Ministry.
