French cheeses displayed in a store in Paris. <\/p>\n
Bertrand Guay | Afp | Getty Images<\/p>\n
China on Monday announced tariffs of up to 42.7% on dairy products from the European Union, following the results of an anti-subsidy investigation that began in August 2024.<\/a> <\/p>\n In a statement<\/a> by the country’s Ministry of Commerce, China said that EU subsidies for dairy products had caused “substantial damage” to China’s domestic dairy industries. <\/p>\n The tariffs are set to take effect on Dec. 23, the ministry said, and the rates would be determined by the amount of “ad valorem subsidy rates<\/a>”\u00a0from\u00a0the country’s Customs Tariff Commission.<\/p>\n The tariffs range from 21.9% to 42.7%, with companies “who cooperated with the investigation” subject to tariffs of 28.6%, and those that “did not cooperate” facing the top rate of 42.7%, according to a statement from a Commerce Ministry official<\/a>.<\/p>\n Products that will be affected include fresh, processed and blue cheeses \u2014 such as the famous Roquefort blue cheese aged in the caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, France \u2014 as well as some kinds of milk and cream. <\/p>\n The latest tariffs mark an escalation in trade tensions between the regions, which flared up when Brussels\u00a0slapped tariffs of up to 45%<\/a>\u00a0on electric vehicles imported from China in October last year.<\/p>\n Separately, the bloc in November challenged China’s imposition<\/a> of tariffs on imports of EU brandy at the World Trade Organisation, saying “China’s provisional measures on EU brandy are not in line with WTO rules.”<\/p>\n An EU spokesperson described the measures as “unjustified and unwarranted” on Monday, according to Reuters, and said the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, would be providing comments to the Chinese authorities.<\/p>\n The Commission was not immediately available to comment when contacted by CNBC Monday. <\/p>\n