The Peking Duck Dilemma
How a Beloved Delicacy Became a Politicized Trade Symbol
Roast Duck in West London: A Summer Memory from 2025
In the summer of 2025, the setting sun painted West London in a warm, golden hue. I sat down for dinner with a British friend at Shikumen, a Chinese restaurant nestled in Shepherd’s Bush. While the establishment is renowned for its Shanghainese cuisine, what truly draws London’s discerning foodies is its remarkably authentic Peking roast duck.
Here, dining on roast duck is elevated into a ritual that blends tradition with culinary avant-garde. Alongside the standard sweet bean sauce and shredded scallions, the restaurant playfully offers raspberry jam. More impressively, it preserves the most traditional method: dipping the crispy duck skin in white sugar. The moment the skin melts on the tongue with the sugar, an explosion of rich, savory aroma ensues. After the duck meat is carved, diners can opt for salt-and-pepper duck bones or a rich, comforting tofu and duck bone soup.
My British friend adored this restaurant, viewing it almost as a tangible embodiment of Chinese culture. Of course, this culinary excellence does not come cheap—a single roast duck carries a price tag of £78. Beyond London, I have sampled similar authentic versions in Paris; while slightly less expensive at €65, it remains a premium dining experience. In the eyes of European financial elites and the middle class, this duck represents the refinement and prestige of Eastern gastronomy.
Yet, this delightful moment of personal memory was unknowingly intertwining, in a somewhat surreal fashion, with a major geopolitical headline.
The Fractured Timeline: From the Finish Line of GI Recognition to the Starting Line of Anti-Dumping
Beyond the menus of high-end restaurants, “Peking roast duck” goes by a more rigorous name in international trade treaties: “Peking Duck.”
As early as September 2020, when China and the EU formally signed the China-EU Agreement on Geographical Indications, Peking Duck stood out as a flagship representative of Chinese products. It was placed on the second list of 175 products scheduled to “complete mutual recognition and protection procedures within four years.” Under the original timeline, with the agreement officially taking effect in March 2021, the EU’s legal procedures for this list were expected to be finalized around 2025.
Over the past few years, the verification process for this second list had been steadily advancing. Relevant right holders were actively applying for international trademark registration under the Madrid System, and trade officials from both sides were working diligently through the reviews. At the EU level, the approval of Peking Duck as a Protected Geographical Indication (GI) had reached its final stretch, virtually awaiting nothing more than an official rubber stamp. Once approved, it would erect a strict legal fortress in the EU market: no non-Chinese duck meat could ever misappropriate the prestigious name of “Peking Duck.”
However, the drama of history often unfolds at the final hurdle. A sudden geopolitical chill instantly froze this cross-continental culinary pact.
On July 9, 2026, the European Commission formally announced the launch of an anti-dumping investigation into imports of Peking duck—both whole ducks and skin-on/bone-in parts used for making Peking roast duck—originating in China. This trade defense measure was triggered by a joint complaint filed by five EU domestic poultry producers, who alleged that duck meat exported from China was underpriced, thereby constituting “unfair competition” against the European industry.
What was meant to be the finish line for legal protection abruptly morphed into the starting line for a trade war.
The Accusation of “Unfairness”: The EU’s Vision of “Market Distortion”
In this newly initiated investigation, the EU has cast a remarkably wide net. The scope covers not only the whole “Peking Duck”—the core breed for meat production—but also extends to duck parts, whether fresh, chilled, frozen, salted, smoked, or deeply processed. Furthermore, the European Commission explicitly stated it would retroactively scrutinize trade data covering the period from January 1 to December 31, 2025.
On what grounds do European producers claim Chinese duck meat is “unfair”? In their complaint, the operative phrase is “severe market distortions.”
The “Original Sin” of State Planning: The complainants cited China’s 14th Five-Year Plan for Agricultural Modernization, arguing that its support measures for the livestock and poultry industries constitute state intervention. They further projected that such support would persist under China’s newly unveiled 15th Five-Year Plan.
The Feed Connection: European producers also pointed to Chinese government backing for the feed sector as a driver of market distortion, arguing it artificially lowers the cost of duck feed.
To construct a so-called “normal value,” the European Commission designated Brazil as an appropriate representative third country. After comparative calculations, the Commission concluded that the evidence presented was “sufficient to justify the initiation of an investigation.”
An Absurd Logic and a Highly Coincident Timing
To anyone familiar with the realities of the global poultry supply chain, this investigation order evokes a sense of profound absurdity.
First, is this cost advantage driven by “dumping” or “efficiency”?
While the roast duck we enjoy in London and Paris is undoubtedly expensive, the competitiveness of exported Chinese duck meat—setting aside high local rents and labor costs—is by no means artificially depressed by subsidies. China possesses the world’s largest and most deeply rooted tradition of consuming duck, which has fostered the most sophisticated and complete waterfowl supply chain globally. According to The Financial Times (FT), data from 2025 shows that the EU duck meat market is valued at approximately €800 million, with imports from China accounting for about €199 million—capturing nearly a quarter of the market share. Globally, the data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is even more staggering: of the roughly 5 million tons of duck meat produced globally each year, China alone accounts for approximately 4.8 million tons. This means that out of every 100 ducks in the world, 96 are raised in China.
