China to impose up to 42.7% provisional tariffs on EU dairy products

HONG KONG — China will impose up to 42.7% of provisional tariffs on dairy products including milk and cheese imported from the European Union, its Commerce Ministry said Monday. The elevated duties, which take effect Tuesday, were based on preliminary results from an investigation opened by China’s Commerce Ministry in August 2024 as tensions between Beijing and Brussels flared. Beijing reviewed subsidies provided by EU countries for their dairy and other farm products. Beijing’s probe was launched as part of tit-for-tat measures as the EU investigated Chinese subsidies on electric vehicles, and later imposed tariffs as high as 45.3% on China-made EVs. China had initiated other probes into European brandy and pork imports as counter measures for the EU’s tariffs on Chinese EVs. It had also urged the EU to scrap its EV tariffs. The temporary duties on EU dairy imports will range from 21.9% to 42.7%, according to the Commerce Ministry, and will cover a basket of dairy products, including fresh and processed cheese, blue cheese, milk, and cream with a fat content exceeding 10% by we