By Mei Mei Chu
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese firms have asked the government to launch an anti-dumping investigation into pork imports from the European Union, as well as an anti-subsidy investigation into EU dairy, according to state media.
The move, seen as retaliation for new EU tariffs of up to 38.1% on imported Chinese elective vehicles from July, may risk escalating trade tensions.
Below are industries that may be probed by China.
PORK
Chinese firms have formally applied to the government for an anti-dumping probe into pork imports from the EU, the state-backed media Global Times said on June 13.
It is unclear which pork products would be targeted, but an analyst said a large portion of China’s imports of EU pork, valued at more than $3 billion last year, are offal.
DAIRY
Chinese firms plan to ask authorities to open an anti-subsidy investigation into imports of some dairy products from the EU, Global Times said on June 8.
It remains unclear which products China could target. Whey powder, cream and fresh milk were the top items in the EU’s 1.7 billion euros ($1.8 billion) worth of dairy exports to China last year, according to data from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, which cited Eurostat.
CARS
China should hike its import tariffs on large gasoline-powered cars to 25%, a government-affiliated auto research body expert told the Global Times in May. China’s current import tariff for cars is 15%.
A higher duty for cars with larger engines would hit principally German carmakers that export SUVs and sedans to China.
BRANDY
Beijing in January opened an anti-dumping investigation on brandy imported from the EU, a step that appears to be mainly targeted at France. Almost all European brandy exported to China is made in France.
The investigation will focus on brandy in containers of less than 200 litres (44 British gallons).
PLASTIC
In May, Beijing launched an anti-dumping probe into POM copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, imported from the EU, United States, Japan and Taiwan.