Consumers select dairy products at a supermarket in Xinle, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 12, 2024. (Photo: Xinhua)

China will impose countervailing measures on certain dairy products imported from the European Union (EU) for a period of five years starting on Friday, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

According to the final ruling announced by the ministry, company-specific duty rates range from 7.4 percent to 11.7 percent.

At the request of China's domestic industry, the ministry launched a countervailing investigation on Aug. 21, 2024.

This investigation was carried out in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations, as well as relevant World Trade Organization rules, following principles of fairness, impartiality, openness and transparency, a ministry spokesperson said, adding that the ministry widely solicited views from interested parties and fully safeguarded their rights.

The ruling report shows that certain dairy products imported from the EU are subsidized, that these subsidized imports have caused material injury to China's related domestic industry, and that a causal link has been established between the subsidies and this material injury, the spokesperson noted.