In recent days, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce has imposed new temporary tariffs of between 20% and 62.5% on European Union (EU) companies working with pork products, but also on other sectors such as brandy and dairy products.
This measure comes in response to the taxes that Brussels has imposed on Chinese electric cars, demanding tariffs of up to 35.3% and denouncing unfair pricing practices by Chinese manufacturers.
In response, Beijing has opened an anti-dumping investigation into unfair competition in the market. Therefore, for those companies that cooperate in the investigation, the tariff will be 20%, and for those that do not, it will be up to 62.4% on pork products.
What is dumping?
Dumping occurs when a country exports products to another country at a price below fair market value, which can cause damage to the domestic industry of the importing country.
Impact on Spain
Until now, Spain had a 12% tariff, which has been increased by 20% to 32% (the lowest rate) compared to the rest of the European Union countries. This trade war may affect Spanish companies that trade in this type of pork products, as 20% of their exports in 2024 were destined for the Asian market.
In this scenario of tariff tension, Smart Logistics, an international freight forwarder that is part of the logistics division of Grupo Alonso, may also be affected due to the shipment of goods to the Asian giant.
Grupo Alonso’s presence in China
Grupo Alonso has offices in China under the Alonso Forwarding China brand, which allows it to have direct contact with one of the world’s main trade centers and a close relationship with exporters and importers.
However, the future of trade relations will remain uncertain until tariff tensions between countries are eased.