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The EU is threatening Chinese car manufacturers with punitive tariffs. China is responding with countermeasures. In the trade dispute between the economic powers, a number of goods are being disputed. An overview.
What do brandy, chemicals and bamboo flooring have in common? All three trade goods are potential means of pressure in the ongoing trade conflict between the EU and China.
The European Union has been investigating China’s electric car exports since autumn 2023. A preliminary decision was recently made in Brussels: three major car manufacturers face punitive tariffs if China does not give in.
pork meat Wil be inspected
But the dispute is not just about cars. With the recent investigation into European pork, China is demonstrating its willingness to engage in conflict.
This could become a problem, especially for the Spanish pork industry. Among the EU member states, Spain is the largest supplier of pork to China.
Attention is now turning to Brussels. There are still a number of anti-dumping investigations into Chinese goods underway there. The EU Commission announced in the spring that it wanted to investigate some products for allegations of dumping. The suspicion is that China is selling goods abroad at artificially low prices – for example because manufacturers receive state subsidies that are not permitted in Europe.
Dumping allegations also for wooden floors and flat steel
For this reason, investigations into flat steel exports from China have been underway since May. Flat steel is used primarily in construction and can be used in a variety of ways.
The EU Commission is acting on a complaint from the European Steel Association. Brussels had already introduced punitive tariffs on certain steel products in 2016 to protect the European industry from cheap competition from China.
Not only in construction – products from China could also become more expensive due to punitive tariffs in the interior design sector, more specifically in the case of wooden parquet. Investigations are also currently underway for “wooden flooring products with bamboo content”.
Chemicals in focus
In response to the EU’s investigations, China immediately followed up and launched investigations into various chemicals imported by the EU, including plastics intended to partially replace metals such as copper and zinc.
The People’s Republic’s Ministry of Commerce threatened further retaliatory tariffs. According to media reports, this is causing unrest, especially in the countries that have insisted on the punitive tariffs on electric cars: Spain and France.
The investigations into French brandy that began in Beijing at the beginning of the year are also seen as China’s response to the trade dispute. Producers are worried that French cognac and armagnac could also come under fire.
Conflict could escalate
China is now investigating another food sector, pork, but the final word does not seem to have been spoken yet. It looks more likely that the trade conflict could escalate further.