Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002467/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Alessandro Ciriani (ECR), Carlo Fidanza (ECR), Sergio Berlato (ECR), Giovanni Crosetto (ECR), Alberico Gambino (ECR), Chiara Gemma (ECR), Paolo Inselvini (ECR), Michele Picaro (ECR), Daniele Polato (ECR), Marco Squarta (ECR), Mariateresa Vivaldini (ECR), Francesco Ventola (ECR)
In February 2024, the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) issued an import ban on ruminants and unprocessed or processed derived products from Italy, saying it was to prevent the risk of spreading bluetongue following outbreaks in a number of Italian regions.
This measure seems to primarily concern bovine semen, but its scope is not entirely clear, and there have already been reports of other types of goods being detained by customs, including authorised goods.
The situation is particularly tense, as some of the bovine semen production centres have not recorded any bluetongue cases in three years and fully comply with the health requirements of the current bilateral agreement between Italy and China.
Given that the ban imposed by the GACC could have serious economic repercussions for the Italian livestock sector and bovine semen producers:
- 1.Is the Commission aware of the ban imposed by the GACC and the consequences for Italian producers?
- 2.Has it begun holding discussions with the Chinese authorities to clarify the scope of the ban and explore possible solutions?
- 3.What measures will it take to ensure that the EU principle of regionalisation is properly applied and protect the interests of EU producers?
Submitted: 18.6.2025