Finance
China lowers EU dairy tariffs in final ruling after 18-month probe
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 12, 2026
2 min readLast updated: February 12, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 12, 2026
2 min readLast updated: February 12, 2026
China will impose tariffs up to 11.7% on EU dairy products starting February 13, following an anti-subsidy investigation by its commerce ministry.
BEIJING, Feb 12 (Reuters) - China on Thursday reduced tariffs on European Union dairy imports worth over $506.3 million, in the final ruling of an 18-month anti-dumping investigation started in response to the bloc's duties on Chinese electric vehicles.
China, the world's third-largest dairy producer, will impose tariffs ranging from 7.4% to 11.7% on dairy imports from the EU for a five-year period, starting on February 13. This is significantly lower than the 21.9% to 42.7% initially imposed in a preliminary decision in December, as stated by China's Ministry of Commerce.
On February 3, the EU said it had received China's final calculations for planned anti-subsidy duties on EU dairy products, with definitive tariffs due by February 21. Industry groups said the proposed final rates ranged from 7.4% to 11.7%, in line with Thursday's official Chinese announcement.
China imported $589 million of dairy products covered by the investigation in 2024, similar to 2023 values.
This is the second time in two months that China has reduced tariffs for the bloc on products targeted after the EU introduced electric vehicle tariffs. Brussels issued detailed rules in January for how the tariffs could be replaced with the minimum price commitments that Beijing has advocated for, although differences still remain between their proposals.
China's dairy anti-dumping investigation began in August 2024 and has impacted major dairy exporters such as France, Italy, Denmark, and the Netherlands. The dairy probe targeted unsweetened milk and cream, as well as fresh and processed cheeses, including famed French varieties such as Roquefort and Camembert.
(Reporting by Daphne Zhang and Lewis Jackson in Beijing; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Saad Sayeed)
Dairy products are food items made from milk, including cheese, yogurt, butter, and cream.
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