Just days after the European Union announced its plans introduce preliminary tariffs Regarding Chinese-made electric vehicles, the Chinese government has targeted European farmers rather than automakers by launching an investigation into EU pork imports.
The Commerce Department did not mention tariffs on electric vehicles when it announced on Monday it was opening an anti-dumping investigation into pork from Europe, but the move is widely seen as response to EU move on electric vehicles. It also gives China a bargaining chip in any trade negotiations.
China could impose a 25% tariff on imports of gasoline-powered cars with powerful engines in the name of fighting climate change, a move that would hit Mercedes and BMW hard. By choosing not to do so, at least for now, the government may be acknowledging the German auto industry’s public opposition to EU tariffs as well as its significant production in China.
The Chinese market is important for German automakers, and the head of the country’s automobile association, the VDA, called the EU’s June 12 tariff announcement another step away from global cooperation. “As a result of this measure, the risk of a global trade conflict increases even further,” Hildegard Müller said in a statement.
The investigation into EU pork imports will cover a variety of products, including fresh and frozen pork meat, intestines and other internal organs. The announcement says this is expected to take one year, with a possible six-month extension.
Olof Gill, the European Commission’s trade spokesman, told reporters in Brussels that EU agricultural subsidies are “strictly in line with our WTO obligations” and that the commission will monitor the investigation very closely and intervene as necessary to ensure the Chinese investigation complies with World Trade Organization rules. trade organization.
Chinese officials said EU investigation into subsidies electric car Manufacturing in China is “typical protectionist behavior” that flouts WTO rules. The EU plans to impose provisional tariffs of 17.4% to 38.1% on electric vehicles from China for four months starting July 4. They will apply to cars exported to Europe by both Chinese and foreign brands, including Tesla.
EU pork exports to China peaked at 7.4 billion euros ($7.9 billion) in 2020 when Beijing was forced to do so. turn abroad to meet domestic demand after his pig farms were decimated by swine disease. They have since fallen, reaching 2.5 billion euros ($2.6 billion) last year. Almost half of this amount came from Spain.
“We must avoid escalating trade countermeasures,” said Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo.
Spanish pork producers’ association Interporc said in a statement that it would “offer full cooperation with the Chinese authorities” and provide them with all necessary documents.
“The agricultural sector is not usually a source of conflict, but it ends up paying the price quite often,” said Spanish Agriculture Minister Luis Planas, referring to the United States tariffs on some EU agricultural products in 2019 during a dispute over subsidies to aircraft manufacturer Airbus.
“I believe we have both the time and the opportunity to negotiate and try to avoid this trade conflict,” Planas said.