Overview
- The provisional duties apply as countervailing deposits on selected dairy products, including fresh and processed cheeses, blue cheeses, and certain milks and creams.
- Beijing says preliminary findings show EU products received subsidies that caused substantial injury to Chinese producers.
- The investigation began in August 2024 and is scheduled to conclude on February 21, 2026, when the tariffs could be made definitive.
- EU industry groups, including France’s FNIL, warn that definitive duties at these levels would shut off key export channels, with the French sector highlighting risks to cream and cheese shipments.
- The move follows a series of EU–China trade actions, including EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and China’s new five‑year anti‑dumping duties of 4.9%–19.8% on EU pork, and has been widely viewed in Europe as retaliatory.