Summary
- The European Dairy Association disputes MOFCOM’s findings that EU farm subsidies distort competition in China’s dairy market, arguing CAP measures comply with WTO rules.
- Beijing has introduced duties of 21.9%–42.7% on some EU dairy imports.
- With China recently lowering tariffs on EU pork after initial steep duties, EU dairy producers could hope for similar negotiations before the February 2026 deadline.
The European Dairy Association (EDA) has dismissed China’s claim that EU dairy imports create unfair competition for domestic producers.
Beijing introduced anti-dumping duties on some EU dairy imports after an investigation carried out by MOFCOM, the Chinese ministry of commerce, found that subsidized EU imports had negatively impacted the prices of cream and cheese.
The ministry also blames China’s sluggish dairy sector performance on competition from EU dairy products.
In an anti-subsidy probe launched in 2024, the authorities collected evidence from EU dairy companies including FrieslandCampina, Lactalis and Arla to gauge if EU farm subsidies give EU producers an unfair advantage on China’s market.
As a result, duties of between 21.9% to 42.7% have been imposed on some EU dairy imports in the form of border deposits. Products such as unsweetened milk and cream and fresh and processed cheeses are being targeted.
EDA, the body representing EU dairy processors, has rejected MOFCOM’s conclusions.
“Our own analysis shows that there is no impact of the instruments of the CAP [Common Agricultural Policy, the EU’s farm subsidies system] on the Chinese markets for cheese and cream,” said a spokesperson. “All the CAP measures cited by the Chinese authorities have been notified to and greenlighted by WTO.”
China’s way of calculating the duties – by using Switzerland and Norway’s average raw milk prices because it rejected EU’s own raw milk pricing structure as ‘seriously distorted’ – was also criticized by the trade body.
“Higher milk prices in Norway and Switzerland result from a combination of geographic constraints that are inherent to the national territory and not region-specific, small-scale farming, high labour costs, strong import protection, market regulation and consumer preferences,” said a spokesperson.
“These prices are deliberately insulated from international competition and are not intended to signal export competitiveness or confer trade advantages. These prices reflect explicit policy choices rather than undistorted market outcomes.”
MOFCOM’s investigation is set to complete on February 21, 2026, meaning that the current tariffs could still be revised.
The best-case scenario would be a resolution without duties and reinstating the previous trade regime, with the worst being the halting of EU dairy exports to China.
“EDA works closely with the competent EU Commission services, the sampled companies as well as the Chinese authorities to help clarify the dairy part of the rather complex trade relation between China and the EU today,” a spokesperson for the trade body told us. “The sampled companies and the national and European authorities were fully cooperative and delivered all requested information in due time.”
The tariffs on EU dairy form part of ongoing trade tensions between China and the EU.
The EU slapped tariffs on Chinese EVs in October 2024 while Beijing introduced import measures on pork, brandy and dairy.
China recently lowered the duties on EU pork, however, demonstrating that there’s willingness to negotiate.
In another anti-dumping investigation, MOFCOM’s initial duties on pork ranged from 15.6% to 62.4% but Beijing lowered these to up to 19.8% in its final ruling.
