Stakeholders in the EU dairy sector have until February 9 to respond to Chinese authorities on a decision to impose tariffs on cream and cheese, according to the European Dairy Association (EDA).

This comes as it emerged that the European Commission told representatives of the EU dairy industry that China will set revised tariffs on a wide range of cream and cheese products it imports from Europe.

Although these tariffs are reduced from provisional tariffs announced before Christmas, they have nonetheless prompted concern within the EU dairy sector.

In a statement to Agriland, the EDA said that no calculations are available at present on how the tariffs would apply to different products.

A list of new proposed tariffs from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce assigns tariffs to different businesses, but does not outline how tariffs will apply to specific products.

The EDA explained that provisional duties were imposed by the Chinese ministry on December 22, which ranged from 21.9% to 42.7%, depending on the company and the product.

Following submissions from the EDA, the EU and individual companies, the ministry revised its assessment before announcing proposed 'final' duties, which will range from between 9.5% and 11.7% for almost all impacted EU companies (although the list of companies includes one Italy-based company for whom the corresponding tariff is listed as 7.4%).

The EDA explained: "Stakeholders may submit responses until February 9, 2026. The final determination is expected between February 13 and 19, 2026.

"Once confirmed, the applicable tariff will consist of the MFN [most favoured nation] rate plus the countervailing duty."

The MFN rate, or most favoured nation rate, refers to the tariffs that already exist on the impacted products before the new tariffs (the countervailing duties) are added.

The EDA said that the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) - which is the source of the 'subsidies' that the Chinese authorities have been investigating - is "fully in line with WTO [World Trade Organization] rules and, on this basis, the countervailing measures are unjustified and lack a sufficient legal and factual basis".

Irish industry response

Dairy Industry Ireland (DII) has warned that the newly revised tariffs on EU dairy exports to China will make EU and Irish products uncompetitive in the Chinese market.

DII said it is disappointed with the confirmation of revised tariffs, and the fact that the Chinese announcement does not reduce tariffs to previous levels, before China started investigating what it calls "subsidies" for EU dairy production.

Conor Mulvihill, director of DII, said: "While the revisions represent an improvement on the announcement made before Christmas, these tariffs still make our products uncompetitive in the Chinese market.

"We are competing with imports from other countries that face no such tariffs, which means these new rates still place Irish and EU dairy at a significant disadvantage," he added.