The Ministry of Commerce of China File photo: VCG

Chinese Commerce Ministry (MOFCOM) on Friday announced preliminary ruling on its anti-dumping investigation on certain pork and pig by-products imported from the EU, with the investigation found that the products involve dumping, according to a statement on the ministry's website.

The dumping of the products poses an actual threat of damage to the domestic pork industry, and there is a causal relationship between the dumping and the threat of damage, the ministry said.

China has decided to implement temporary anti-dumping measures on certain pork and pig by-products imported from the EU in a form of deposits starting from September 10, according to the MOFCOM.

Importers are required to place deposits with the Chinese customs when importing products under investigation, according to the statement.

Since the initiation of the case, the MOFCOM has conducted the investigation by adhering to the principles of fairness, impartiality, transparency, and openness, strictly complying with Chinese laws and regulations and WTO rules, a spokesperson with the MOFCOM said.

Preliminary evidence indicates that certain pork and pig by-products originating from the EU involve dumping practices, and pose an actual threat of damage to the domestic pork industry. There is a causal relationship between the dumping and the threat of damage, the spokesperson said, noting that the dumping margin is 15.6-62.4 percent.

"I would like to emphasize that China has been prudent and restrained in the use of trade remedy measures," an official from the Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau of the MOFCOM said on Friday.

Since 2025, China has not initiated any new investigations against the EU, only issuing final rulings on two anti-dumping cases involving brandy and polyformaldehyde copolymer. In the brandy case, the investigation authorities fully considered the concerns of EU enterprises and resolved the matter through a price undertaking agreement, according to the official.

However, during the same period, the EU initiated six anti-dumping investigations against China, issued preliminary rulings and imposed temporary anti-dumping duties on 16 cases, and issued final rulings with formal duties on 12 cases, the official said, stressing "China consistently opposes the abuse of trade remedy measures and is willing to resolve trade frictions with the EU through dialogue and consultation, jointly safeguarding the overall situation of China-EU economic and trade cooperation."

Moving forward, we will continue to conduct investigations strictly in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations as well as WTO rules, fully safeguarding the rights of all stakeholders, and make objective and impartial final rulings based on investigation results, the official said.

In June 2024, the MOFCOM launched an anti-dumping investigation into certain pork and pig by-products imported from the EU after receiving an application from China Animal Agriculture Association (CAAA) on behalf of the domestic industry, the ministry said in a previous statement.

The announcement followed an exclusive report in the Global Times in May 2024 in which a business insider said that relevant Chinese industries were gathering evidence, as they were planning to apply to competent authorities to launch an anti-dumping investigation into imports of certain pork from the EU.

The ministry in June announced to extend the anti-dumping investigation period for certain pork and pig by-products originating from the EU, which was originally expected to end before June 17, 2025, till December 16, 2025, due to the complexity of the case.

Global Times