EU ‘Not Worried’ About China’s Anti-Dumping Investigation Into Its Pork

A vendor selling pork meat waits for customers at a market in Wuhan, in central China's Hubei Province, on April 15, 2024. STR/AFP via Getty Images)

The European Commission said it is not worried about Beijing’s decision to investigate pork imported from the European Union (EU) amid escalating tensions between Brussels and Beijing.

China’s communist regime on June 17 announced an investigation into “certain pork and pig byproducts” imported from the EU. The move was made less than a week after the bloc hiked tariffs on imported electric vehicles from China in response to what Brussels called a threat to its auto industry.

China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on its website that the anti-dumping probe was initiated at the request of the China Animal Agriculture Association, a state-backed industrial group.

The investigation will focus on pork mainly for human consumption, including fresh, cold, and frozen pork products such as dried and smoked whole cuts, intestines, bladder, and stomach.

It will commence on June 17 and be completed within 12 months, according to the ministry’s statement. In special circumstances, the deadline can be extended to six months.

Asked about Beijing’s announcement, the European Commission’s trade spokesperson, Olof Gill, said the commission would follow Beijing’s proceedings “very closely.”

“We will intervene as appropriate to ensure that the investigation fully complies with all relevant World Trade Organization [WTO] rules,” Mr. Gill told reporters during a briefing on June 17.

He also denied Beijing’s accusation of dumping.

“We’re not the least bit worried,” Mr. Gill said. “Because not all subsidies are the same, and any subsidies that take place under the Common Agricultural Policy or indeed in any other policy area in the European Union are strictly in line with our WTO obligations.”

The EU is the world’s second-largest pork exporter, with most of its production sold to East Asia, particularly China. Germany, Spain, and France are among the major pork producers, accounting for half of the EU’s total pork production.

However, according to the EU’s official data, exports of pigmeat to China have steadily declined over the years, from 7.1 billion euros (about $7.6 billion) in 2020 to 2.5 billion euros (about $2.7 billion) in 2023.

With or without tariffs, the European Commission had already projected that its shipments of pigmeat to Beijing would continue to decline over the next two years due to the expected recovery in pigmeat production in China.

Beijing’s move comes as tension between the 27-member bloc and China has risen over multiple fronts, from the regime’s aid to Russia’s war efforts to its trade policy.

Brussels recently initiated multiple investigations into products imported from China, ranging from biodiesel to solar panel makers. In April, the EU announced an investigation into whether China uses unfair trade practices to deprive European companies of access to its market for medical devices, including hypodermic needles and high-tech scanners.

Beijing also opened an anti-dumping investigation into European brandy, particularly French Cognac, in January. The move was seen as retaliation for Brussels’s scrutiny of Chinese subsidies for electric cars and medical devices.

Analysts have cautioned that the Chinese regime may adopt “severe retaliatory measures” to the EU’s extra levies on Chinese vehicles.

But economic retaliation is likely to be “short-lived,” Wang Shiow-wen, a researcher on the U.S.–China trade war and supply chain security at Institute for National Defense and Security Research in Taipei, recently told The Epoch Times.

Ms. Wang believes that Beijing’s need for access to European technologies, among other things, will drive Beijing to resume imports from Europe and repair bilateral ties.

“However, the EU will continue to push its ‘derisking’ strategy,” she said. “This is an issue related to economic security.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.