Pork sellers attend to customers at the Xinfadi wholesale market in Beijing, China Feb 2, 2024 , such as fresh, cold and frozen whole cuts, as well as pig intestines, bladders and stomachs. The probe will begin on June 17.
Spain is the top supplier of pork to China and its pork producers group Interporc said they would fully cooperate with the investigation by Chinese authorities.European pork producers should be able to keep exporting to China tariff-free while the investigation is underway, pending a decision and a tariff announcement by the Chinese side.
Pork suppliers from South America, the United States and Russia could be among those gaining market share if Beijing restricts imports from the European Union.China's state-backed Global Times newspaper first reported late last month that Chinese firms planned to ask authorities to open an anti-dumping investigation into some European pork products, citing an unidentified"business insider".
A spokesperson for the European Commission said the bloc was not worried about China opening its investigation and told reporters the EU would intervene appropriately to ensure the investigation complied with all relevant World Trade Organisation rules. China's commerce minister Wang Wentao earlier this month travelled to Spain to court officials ahead of the Commission announcing its decision on whether Chinese electric vehicle producers benefit from distortive state subsidies.