China has formally imposed extra tariffs of as much as 11.7% on EU cream and cheese exports after concluding an anti-dumping investigation.
EU exporters together with FrieslandCampina, Elvir and Sterilgarda initially confronted as much as 42.7% extra duties, however this was diminished to between 7.4% and 11.7% in latest weeks after the European Fee held talks with Beijing. An additional breakthrough was not achieved, nevertheless.
The brand new tariffs – to be utilized on prime of current customs duties of about 8% on cream and 15% on cheese – will likely be in place from February 13, 2026 and is about to remain in place till 2031.
The EU is a serious provider of cream and cheese to China, exporting round 30,000 tonnes of cheese and 100,000 tonnes of cream per 12 months.
Why China imposed the tariffs
Beijing sought to impose tariffs on some EU dairy merchandise, particularly cheese and high-fat milk and cream, after concluding EU imports negatively impacted its home market.
Levies of between 21.9% and 42.7% have been introduced in December 2025 after which revised down in February 2026 to between 7.4% and 11.7% following negotiations between the European Fee and Beijing.
An additional breakthrough would have hinged on China agreeing with the EU’s technical evaluation and calculations to assist even decrease levies.
China’s commerce ministry views the EU’s uncooked milk pricing system as ‘severely distorted’, which became a serious sticking level as Beijing used a ‘honest market’ milk worth (comprising the common uncooked milk costs of Switzerland and Norway, as a substitute of the EU’s personal worth) to provide the brand new tariff charges again in December.
However the EU’s additional technical evaluation and calculation-based arguments shared in latest weeks weren’t taken under consideration within the ultimate willpower of the rule: leaving most EU dairy exports of cream and cheese uncovered to new tariff headwinds.
What tariffs are corporations dealing with
Most exporters of particular courses of cream and cheese merchandise are dealing with a further levy of 11.7%.
Some corporations that co-operated intently with the Chinese language ministry throughout the probe have decrease tariffs. These vary between 7.4% and 11.7% and apply to round 50 corporations.
Would EU dairy exports be hit?
In line with the European Dairy Affiliation, the brand new tariff regime would considerably curb cream and cheese exports from the bloc and cut back EU dairy’s competitiveness, significantly towards regional gamers from Australia and New Zealand who’ve free commerce agreements in place with China.
The extent of that’s but to be felt, however even earlier than the extra tariffs have been touted, the EU had began to diversify its exports within the area.
New Chinese language tariffs might end in much more product routed elsewhere, probably accelerating development in rising markets comparable to Southeast Asia.
In recent times, Singapore has turn out to be more and more essential for premium European cheese exports comparable to Cheddar, with Malaysia, Vietnam additionally key.
There’s wholesome and rising urge for food for EU cheese in Japan and South Korea, and talks over a free commerce settlement are advancing with Thailand, the place the EU is eager to develop its agri-food presence.
What are the EU’s main cheese and cream markets?
The EU ships most cheese to a handful of main markets whereas cream exports are additionally routed to a number of Gulf states.
Primarily based on Eurostat export information protecting the interval of January to September 2025, the UK stays the EU’s single largest cheese buyer, adopted by the US, Japan, Switzerland, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and China.
For cream or high-fat dairy, the US takes the highest spot adopted by the UK, China, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
