China Hits EU Pork With up to 62 Percent Tariff, Escalating Trade Dispute

Beijing’s move comes after Brussels hit Chinese EVs with steep tariffs.

Piglets crowd a stall at a hog farm in Drahnsdorf, Germany, on April 28, 2016. Carsten Koall/Getty Images

China has intensified its trade clash with Europe by slapping anti-dumping duties of up to 62.4 percent on European Union pork, in a move widely seen as retaliation for Brussels’s tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.

The Commerce Ministry said on Sept. 5 it had reached a preliminary finding that EU pork and pig by-products are being dumped on the Chinese market, causing “material injury” to domestic producers. Provisional duties ranging from 15.6 to 62.4 percent will take effect on Sept. 10, with the investigation now extended until mid-December.