BEIJING (AP) — China’s government has launched an investigation into European Union pork imports, targeting European farmers rather than German automakers, just days after the bloc announced its plans for the trade war. Impose provisional tariffs Chinese-made electric cars.
The Commerce Department did not mention EV tariffs when it announced on Monday that it was opening an anti-dumping investigation into European pork, but the move is being widely seen. Reaction to EU moves Raising tariffs on electric vehicles would also give China a bargaining chip in trade negotiations.
China could impose a 25% tariff on imports of large gasoline engine cars in the name of climate change, which would hit Mercedes and BMW hard, but it has chosen not to do so, at least for now, perhaps in recognition of the German auto industry’s opposition to EU tariffs and its significant production in China.
The Chinese market is important for German automakers, and the head of the German Automobile Association (VDA) said the EU’s tariff announcement on June 12 was a further step away from international cooperation. “As a result of this measure, the risk of a global trade conflict has increased even further,” Hildegard Mueller said in a statement.
The EU pork import investigation will cover a range of products including fresh and frozen pork, intestines and other offal, and is expected to take a year, with the possibility of an extension of another six months, the statement said.
European Commission trade spokesman Olof Gill told reporters in Brussels that EU farm subsidies were “strictly in accordance with our WTO obligations” and that the commission would monitor the investigation very closely and intervene if necessary to ensure that the China investigation complied with World Trade Organization rules.
Chinese authorities say EU investigation into subsidies Electric car “Manufacturing in China is a classic protectionist move that ignores WTO rules. The EU plans to impose temporary tariffs of 17.4% to 38.1% on Chinese-made EVs for four months from July 4. The tariffs will apply to vehicles exported to Europe by both Chinese and foreign brands, including Tesla.”
EU exports of pork products to China peaked at 7.4 billion euros ($7.9 billion) in 2020. They have since fallen to just 2.5 billion euros ($2.6 billion) last year, with almost half of that total coming from Spain.
“An escalation of trade measures must be avoided,” Spain’s Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said.
Spain’s pork industry group Interpolc said in a statement it would “cooperate fully with the Chinese authorities” and provide all necessary documentation.
