China has initiated an investigation into whether the country will impose a punitive tariff on the import of European meat. This follows the announcement by the EU on June 12th that the EU will impose a punitive tariff on Chinese electric vehicles from 4 July 2024.

The Danish Meat Industry emphasizes that the organization is deeply concerned by the outlook of a trade-conflict between EU and China.

"As a small open economy, Denmark has always benefited from free trade with other countries. A trade war only has losers. The Danish Meat Industry will be hit incredibly hard by potential Chinese restrictions on European meat and therefore, I would like to urge all parties involved to consider the consequences on production and food-security if the situation escalates," says chairman of The Danish Meat Industry, Ulrik Bremholm.

In 2023, Denmark exported pork to China for 556.1 million Dollars making Denmark one of countries in EU with the highest meat-export to China. As small a country with around 2% of the EU-27 population with no production of vehicles, the Danish Meat Industry underlines that potential sanctions towards the Danish meat industry as a response to tariffs on electric vehicles will hit disproportionately hard.

Therefore, the Danish Meat Industry underlines the need to de-escalate the situation as an escalating trade-conflict between EU and China will be catastrophic.

"As a representative of a major export sector, I would like to stress our support for rule-based and free world trade, and I urge all parties involved to consider the consequences for jobs, food-security, and production and find a solution to the situation before July 4th 2024," concludes Ulrik Bremholm, chairman of The Danish Meat Industry.

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