The EU condemns China's decision to impose tariffs on dairy products, and French dairy farmers are in despair: suffering heavy losses!

On December 22, 2025, the atmosphere at the EU headquarters in Brussels was tense. After China announced additional tariffs on certain European dairy products, the EU reacted quickly, stating that it "strongly condemned" the move and clearly indicated it did not accept China's investigation findings.

This time, China directly targeted high-value-added dairy products from the EU, such as infant formula, cheese, and butter, which happen to be France's key export agricultural products.

Data shows that in 2024, China imported dairy products worth over 6 billion euros from the EU, with France accounting for nearly one-third. More importantly, the Chinese market has become an important outlet for French dairy farmers to cope with a saturated domestic market in recent years.

If the new tariffs are implemented, it would lead to a 10% to 25% increase in final prices, which is enough to make many Chinese importers turn to New Zealand, Australia, or even local brands.

The French National Dairy Federation is in despair, as preliminary estimates suggest that if the new tariffs remain in place for a year, the French dairy industry could lose at least 800 million euros in exports. Some small and medium-sized cheese factories have already received notices from Chinese customers to suspend orders. "This is not 'possible' damage, but rather an immediate flow cut-off."

A dairy farmer from Brittany told local media honestly, "It took us five years to build a channel into this market, and now we're back to square one overnight."

The EU's position is clear: they acknowledge the existence of agricultural subsidies, but emphasize that these are routine support within the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy and are not special subsidies aimed at exports, thus not qualifying as "actionable subsidies" under WTO definitions.

In other words, Brussels believes the EU can have subsidies, but China cannot have subsidies, such as in the electric vehicle sector. Brussels now strongly hopes to hold negotiations.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1852357814092874/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.