The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced the imposition of provisional anti-dumping measures on brandy imports from the European Union starting Friday, after the European Commission (EC) decided to proceed with imposing tariffs on imports of electric vehicles from China.
The move means that the liquor importers will have to hand over security deposits to Chinese customs starting Oct. 11, Commerce said in a statement.
In late August, China said it would not impose provisional anti-dumping measures on imported brandy, which would mainly affect France, despite finding that European producers were selling the spirit on the Chinese market “with dumping margins of 30.6-39% %”. The investigation, which began on 5 January this year, subsequently established that these dumping practices pose a significant threat to the local food industry. brandy in China. On July 18, the portfolio analyzed the industrial and public interest impacts of importing European brandy, reflecting Beijing’s selective approach in response to European tariffs. Any tariffs on brandy would have a limited impact on Spain, as brandy sales to the Chinese market represented only 0.2% of total Spanish spirits exports in 2023.
According to Chinese customs data reported by the local press, China has imported 43.31 million liters of brandy in 2023.
China has launched further “anti-dumping” investigations into products such as dairy products and pork from the EU, in what is perceived as a response to trade frictions with the EU bloc. After nine months of investigations, Brussels suggested an increase in customs duties due to Chinese state support for companies producing electric cars.
Depending on the level of state subsidies that different brands have received from Beijing, the EC recommends a tax of 7.4% on BYD, 20% on Geely and 38.1% on SAIC. Western brands producing in China (Telsa, Dacio or BMW) would also be taxed at 21%. France believes the European Commission’s (EC) proposal to increase tariffs on Chinese electric cars is “proportionate and calibrated”, a position that differs from that of Germany.
Immediately after the announcement the shares of the French alcohol producer Re’my Cointreau fell sharply on the Paris Stock Exchange (-6.37% to 61.75 euros), while Pernod Ricard recorded a decline of 3.12% to 127.35 euros.
“We are never worried, we are reasonable, we have had a very serious investigation regarding the risks of overproduction in some sectors. We have taken appropriate and very proportionate decisions and I do not think there is any reason to react to these proportionate decisions with retaliation “. This was declared by the European Commissioner for Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, in the press conference at the end of the Ecofin a Lussemburgo.