China has revised plans to apply import duties of up to 42.7% on EU dairy exporters, industry bodies say.
In December 2025, China announced it would levy some of Europe’s largest dairy exporters additional duties of between 21.9% and 42.7% after an anti-subsidy investigation found certain EU imports were distorting competition in its domestic dairy market.
But the highest rate has now been slashed to 11.7% and will apply to most EU dairy exporters, while 51 companies are facing a lower rate of 9.5%.
Based on documents seen by us, companies such as Arla Foods and Lactalis International are facing the 9.5% levy.
The full list is published below:
Last year, China imposed temporary tariffs on EU cheese and high‑fat cream imports as part of an anti-subsidy investigation launched after domestic producers claimed EU dairy was unfairly undercutting local prices.
Three major exporter groups and their affiliates – France’s Elvir; FrieslandCampina Nederland B.V. and FrieslandCampina Belgium N.V.; and Sterilgarda Alimenti S.p.A. and their affiliates – faced the steepest tariffs of between 21.9% and 42.7%.
Other companies that co-operated with the Chinese investigation - such as Bel, Lactalis and Arla - faced additional tariffs of 28.6%.
The move followed similar probes into EU pork and brandy, which are widely seen as China’s retaliation against the EU’s tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
But China and the bloc have de-escalated its trade spat in recent months, with the EU releasing a guidance document outlining minimum import prices among other proposed measures, and China agreeing to lower the duties on EU pork from 15.6% to 62.4% to up to 19.8% in its final ruling.
China’s investigation was set to run to February 21, 2026. The final ruling on dairy is yet to be formally published.
