On June 17, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce issued a notice announcing an anti-dumping investigation on imports of pork and pork by-products originating in the EU starting on June 17, 2024.This decision quickly sparked tensions among the EU’s major pork exporters, including Spain, the Netherlands, France and Denmark.

Spain seeks to avoid trade conflict

Spanish Economy Minister and Spanish Trade Minister Carlos Cuerpo said Spain would work with EU officials to avoid tariffs on its pork products, he stressed that Spain and the EU are working to find balance and avoid trade wars while protecting its products from impact.

Spain is the world’s largest pork exporter and the country that has the strongest support for the European Commission’s investigation of China’s electric vehicles after France. According to Interporc data, Spain exported 56,04 million tons of pork products to China in 2023, accounting for 20.3% of its total pork exports; Spain exported pork products to China last year for around €1.2 billion, accounting for 13.7% of its total pork exports and 21% of total Chinese pork imports.

Interporc said it believes China’s one-year investigation has “provided a lot of time to reach an agreement between the EU and China.”Spanish pork producers are actively working with governments and EU institutions in the hope of finding a solution.

France: Precautionary measures

French government officials have not made any public statements about the anti-dumping investigation announced by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, however, Anne Richard, president of the French Association of Pork Exporters (INAPORC), said: “We are currently primarily considering what questions will be asked and how we must respond.”

China accounts for 18 percent of French pork export revenue, Richard regretted that France had been very busy in the competition in pork exports, given that Brazil and the United States exported cheaper meat, and now it is even worse.The French pork industry is closely watching the developments and prepared to deal with the possible impact.

Denmark calls for swift resolution

The Danish Agriculture & Food Council said the Danish pork industry would be severely hurt if China restricted European meat imports and called for a solution by July 4.

Ulrik Bremholm, chairman of Danske Slagterier, urged all parties to consider the impact on employment, food security and production and to find a solution by July 4. He said the Danish pork industry would be hit incredibly hard after an anti-dumping investigation was launched in China. Ksenija Simovic, senior trade policy adviser to Copa-Cogeca, Europe’s largest agricultural industry organization, said directly, “The European Commission should ensure that our industry no longer pays for disputes in other industries.”

China’s anti-dumping investigation into EU pork and pork by-products is based on the European Commission’s anti-subsidy investigation into China’s electric vehicles, which has made trade relations between the EU and China more complex and tense due to the escalation of trade frictions.

Spain, as one of the EU’s major pork exports to China, is actively involved in the formulation of EU policy towards China and hopes to resolve differences through negotiations. Governments and industry organizations in countries such as Spain, France and Denmark are working to find solutions to avoid a trade war between the two major markets.