EU dairy lobby group 'regrets' China's decision on increased tariffs
An EU dairy lobby group has said the additional tariff rates China is set to impose on some European dairy product will "continue undermining" the bloc's competitiveness in the Chinese market.
A list of the impacted EU companies, seen by Agriland, appears to outline over 60 EU dairy companies that will face an additional tariff rate of between 7.4% and 11.2%, with most of these businesses attracting a tariff rate on their products of 9.5%.
These are revised new Chinese tariffs on some EU dairy produce, reducing the level of tariffs announced before Christmas.
However, the reduced tariffs are on top of tariffs that were already in place before the pre-Christmas announcement, leading to concerns that the latest tariffs will make EU products uncompetitive in the Chinese market.
In a statement, Eucolait - which has 430 members from the EU dairy industry - said it “regrets the final determination in the anti-subsidy investigation into certain European dairy products issued by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce”.
The statement added: “China remains [the] world’s largest importer of dairy products and ingredients, and the EU plays a significant role in meeting this demand.
"Cream and cheese shipments to China form an important part of the EU’s high-value export portfolio.
“The announced duties, while considerably lower than the provisionally applied tariffs, will continue undermining the EU’s competitiveness on the Chinese market.”
Eucolait added that it is “confident that Europe’s dairy trade with China takes place in full compliance with international trade rules”.
“We support the European Commission’s efforts to defend our sector against unjustified trade measures and call for a constructive and sustainable solution to this dispute," the statement said.
Global dairy prices
Separately, Ornua recently said that European dairy commodity prices have "likely reached a floor" and are expected to stabilise in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026.
In its latest Global Dairy Market Report, Ornua said that demand and "prices should improve as the year progress", but the extent of any price recovery will depend on how much supply eases.
The co-op said that although sentiment remains weak, European price indices have stabilised, and the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) has increased.
"It will take time for global milk supply to decrease, and heightened geopolitical uncertainty could dampen demand."
Referring to the tariffs announced by China in December, Ornua said these could have "repercussions" for EU dairy exports.
