Possibility of Retaliation with Dairy Following Pork
European Union Exported 2.6 Trillion Won to China Last Year
China is reportedly considering using import restrictions on dairy products following its measures on meat imports against the European Union (EU). As trade frictions in the electric vehicle sector show signs of escalating into a tariff war over agricultural and livestock products, trade conflicts between China and the West are deepening.
According to Chinese-language media on the 9th, the Global Times, an English-language outlet affiliated with the People's Daily, stated on its X (formerly Twitter) account the previous day, citing an "industry insider," that "the Chinese industry is planning to file an anti-subsidy investigation application on dairy products imported from the EU and is currently collecting evidence." The Global Times did not provide further details or publish a separate article on this matter.
EU statistics show that last year, the EU exported a total of approximately 805,000 tons of dairy products, including butter and cheese, worth 1.76 billion euros (about 2.6 trillion KRW) to China. This represents a slight decrease compared to 880,000 tons and about 2.08 billion euros in 2022.
With Chinese state media directly mentioning the possibility of China retaliating against tariff pressures from the US and the EU, concerns are rising that frictions between the West and China could escalate into a "tariff war" involving manufactured goods as well as agricultural and livestock products.
Earlier, on the 14th of last month, the US announced plans to raise tariffs on Chinese products, including electric vehicles from 25% to 100% (within the year), lithium-ion electric vehicle batteries from 7.5% to 25% (within the year), and battery components from 7.5% to 25% (within the year). The US has pressured China to curb production, citing the serious threat that China's overproduction of low-priced goods poses to the global economy, while seeking joint responses with the EU.
In October last year, the EU began an anti-subsidy investigation targeting Chinese electric vehicles and has since expanded the scope to include Chinese solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and medical devices. This month, the EU also initiated an anti-dumping investigation into Chinese tin-coated steel sheets.
In response, China launched an anti-dumping investigation on the 19th of last month into polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, plastic raw materials from Taiwan, the US, the EU, and Japan. The possibility of "import restrictions" pressure, leveraging its vast consumer market, has also been mentioned.
At the end of last month, the Global Times reported, citing an "industry insider," that the Chinese industry is collecting evidence to apply for an anti-dumping investigation on EU-origin pork. The outlet also introduced the opinion of a "prominent Chinese automotive industry expert" who suggested that the Chinese government should consider temporarily raising tariffs on imported cars with engine displacements of 2.5 liters or more.
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