INDUSTRY BACKLASH
European dairy groups also criticised the move. France’s FNIL described the duties as a “shock”.
Germany’s Dairy Industry Association said the measures were a “hard blow” for affected companies and urged all sides not to “inappropriately involve” dairy products in what it described as an unrelated trade dispute.
According to European Commission data, EU countries exported more than €1.6 billion (US$1.9 billion) worth of dairy products to China last year, down from a peak of just over €2 billion in 2022.
The dairy duties come a week after Beijing imposed tariffs on EU pork imports for five years to counter alleged dumping, with rates ranging from 4.9 per cent to 19.8 per cent.
ESCALATING SPAT
The dispute forms part of a broader trade clash between the EU and China that began in 2024, when Brussels moved to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, arguing that state subsidies unfairly undercut European manufacturers.
China denied the allegations and launched investigations into European pork, brandy and dairy products, widely seen in Brussels as retaliatory.
Tensions have also flared over steel, rare earth exports and what many European governments see as an increasingly unbalanced economic relationship. The EU ran a trade deficit of more than US$350 billion with China in 2024.
French President Emmanuel Macron said this month that Europe could adopt strong measures, including tariffs, if the imbalance is not addressed. Alongside trade, the EU and China remain divided over geopolitical issues, including Russia’s war in Ukraine.