Beijing | Reuters — China extended on Tuesday a high-profile investigation into imported pork from the European Union by six months, days before it was due to wrap up and as negotiators from Brussels and Beijing carve out a deal over the bloc’s electric vehicle tariffs.
Why it matters: EV tariffs have created trade tensions between Canada and key pork importer China.
Launched in June last year, the probe is widely seen as retaliation for EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle exports and has hit over $2 billion (C$2.73 billion) in pork exports, concentrated in major producers such as Spain, the Netherlands, and Denmark.
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China, the world’s largest pork consumer, has decided to extend the investigation period to December 16 due to the “complexity” of the case, the country’s commerce ministry said in a statement on its website.
The decision to delay comes as China and the EU close in on a deal over the tariffs. Beijing has already extended its anti-dumping investigation into EU brandy and offered to speed up rare earth magnet export licenses for European firms.
A significant portion of the bloc’s pork shipments to China consists of offal – including pig ears, noses, and feet – highly valued in Chinese cuisine but with few alternatives if that market is closed.
China imported $4.8 billion worth of pork, including offal, in 2024 – over half of it from the EU, with Spain leading the bloc in exports by volume.
In April, China expanded access for Spanish cherries and some pork products in a move analysts and producers said signalled Beijing’s openness to a deal over its broader pork investigation.
