Aragón Calls for State Intervention Against Chinese Tariffs on Pork
The Government of Aragón and representatives from the pork sector held an urgent meeting to address the tariffs of 15.3% to 20% that China will impose on Spanish companies, and up to 64% on those from the rest of the European Union. Jorge Azcón will contact Pedro Sánchez and Luis Planas to include this issue in the bilateral agenda with China.
The President of the Government of Aragón, Jorge Azcón, accompanied by Vice President Mar Vaquero and the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food, Javier Rincón, held a meeting on Monday with key representatives from the pork sector. Participants included leaders from Grupo Costa, Grupo Jorge, Vall Companys, Litera Meat, Fribin, Anprogapor, and Interporc, along with the manager of Aragón Exterior, Javier Camo, and the director general of Quality and Food Safety, Aitziber Lanza.
China will impose tariffs ranging from 15.3% to 20% on Aragonese and other Spanish companies, and up to 64% on those from the rest of the European Union. Mar Vaquero emphasized that these are provisional tariffs that open a window of opportunity to initiate a negotiation process up until December 31. These measures have halted commercial operations in the pork sector with the Asian country, including containers in transit.
Alberto Herranz, director of Interporc, pointed out that the first hurdle will come on September 10, when companies must deposit a series of guarantees.
Mar Vaquero announced that Jorge Azcón will immediately contact the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, to ensure that the increase in tariffs is included urgently, as a priority, and immediately in the bilateral agenda with China. The goal is to make it clear to China that Spain is not among the countries engaging in fiscal dumping.
China is the main client of the Aragonese pork sector, with an export volume of 14.71% and an economic value of 331 million euros in 2024. The most exported product is frozen edible offal from the pig species, accounting for 49.32% of total exports. Pork represents nearly 40% of Aragon’s agricultural and livestock production, with 4,191 operations in operation, and total exports exceeded 2.2 billion euros in 2024.
