BeijingChina imposes definitive tariffs of between 4.9% and 19.8% on imports of pork products from the European Union. The move is a response to European tariffs on Chinese electric cars.
Beijing has been moderate and has left the door open to future deals with the EU, as it threatened provisional tariffs of up to 62.4% on European pork imports in September. The decision will particularly affect Spain, which is the main European exporter of pork to the Asian giant.
The new tariffs come into effect immediately this Wednesday, December 17, with the intention that they will be in effect for a period of five years.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced the new rates in a brief statement on its website. In this way, Beijing has concluded the investigation antidumping which started in 2024 accusing the European pig sector of unfair competition.
Tariffs distinguish between companies that have cooperated with the investigation and those that have not. Among those that come out better off are the Spanish companies. Litera Meat is given the lowest levy, at 4.9%, rewarding its collaboration. Other Spanish companies, such as El Pozo, Cárnicas Celra, Corporació Alimentària Guissona, Sánchez Romero Carvajal, Argal, Campofrío, Noel or Friselva, are charged a rate of 9.8%, in the middle of the scale. On the other hand, the Dutch company Vion, which did not participate in the process, is penalized with tariffs of 19.8%.
The announcement of the final rates comes when efforts are still being made to resolve the crisis caused by the reappearance of swine fever in Catalonia.
Beijing has only suspended imports to the area surrounded by the plague thanks to an agreement signed recently during the trip of the kings of Spain to China. The General Administration of Chinese Customs suspended purchases from twelve companies in the Barcelona area.
The Asian giant, which is the world’s main consumer of pork, is the priority destination for Spanish and Catalan pork exports. In 2024, around 540,000 tonnes of pig products were sold for a value of 1,097 million euros. In total, the Asian giant is the destination for 17.6% of all EU pork exports.
Sales of pork products at the Asian giant soared in the wake of swine fever that hit the country in 2018 and 2019, forcing it to cull many of its animals.
The investigation carried out by the Chinese side has not affected Iberian ham or sausages, which are hardly sold in the country. China buys, in addition to meat, mainly offal and parts that are less valued in Europe, such as pig ears, snouts or feet, which, on the other hand, are highly appreciated in the local gastronomy.
Tensions between Beijing and Brussels over fears that Chinese electric cars, subsidized by the government, would invade the European market have turned the pig sector into a collateral victim.
Beijing responded to tariffs on its electric cars with investigations into certain dairy products, brandy and pork. Precisely the pork sector particularly affects Spain, a country with which Beijing has always ensured that it maintains excellent relations. The Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, even went so far as to request on a trip to China that tariffs on electric cars be revalued.
