To action, reaction. After the increase in duties on electric cars produced in China announced by the EU, Beijing launches an anti-dumping investigation on pork-related products imported from Europe. The Ministry of Commerce reports this in a note, according to which Brussels now has 20 days to present “opinions” on the matter. The Ministry of Commerce opened the investigation in response to a request “formally submitted by the China Animal Husbandry Association on behalf of the domestic swine industry.” China is the EU’s largest foreign market for pig meat. In 2023 the value of exports was almost 2 billion dollars, with products coming mainly from Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands. Overall, China imports goods worth over 280 billion dollars a year from the EU.
It had been announced for a few weeks that food products would be the first to be subject to retaliation. Beijing warned that the tariffs would “harm Europe’s interests” and condemned the European bloc’s “protectionism”. Before the decision, state media in Beijing had stepped up threats that Dragon could target EU exports, including pork and dairy products. Last January, China launched an anti-dumping investigation into brandy imported from the EU, in a move seen as aimed at increasing the pressure on Franceaccused of pushing for the European Commission’s investigation into electric vehicles.
Last Saturday the Chinese ambassador to Italy, Jia Guides wrote in a note that “We hope that the Italian government takes serious action so that the EU maintains a rational and open attitude in cooperation with China in the field of new green energy and provides the necessary conveniences and political guarantees to Chinese companies to invest in Italy. The existence of a fair, transparent and stable legal and political context is an important factor that any Chinese company must consider when deciding whether to invest in Italy.”
