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The
tariffs, effective on Saturday, will range from 27.7% to 34.9%,
China's Commerce Ministry said. They are to be in place for five
years and will not be applied retroactively.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on X that the exemptions
for most cognac and armagnac producers are “a positive step
towards putting an end to the dispute that was threatening our
exports.”
“We will continue to support our industry to ensure that its
interests are fully protected,” Macron said.
The announcement came during a European visit by Chinese Foreign
Minister Wang Yi aimed at ironing out trade differences. Wang
was set to visit Paris after stops in Brussels and Berlin.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said he will discuss
the issue with Wang when the pair meet later Friday.
The anti-dumping duties are the result of a probe China launched
last year into European brandy, after the European Union
undertook a probe into Chinese electric vehicles subsidies.
“The investigative authority finally ruled that the dumping of
related imported brandy from the EU has existed,” read a
statement by China’s Commerce Ministry. “The domestic brandy
industry faces a material threat of damage, and there is a
causal relationship between the dumping and the substantial
damage threat.”
Besides cognac, China has also launched investigations into
European pork and dairy products. The brandy probe was the first
and targeted mainly French makers of cognac and similar spirits
such as Armagnac.
China initially announced provisional tariffs of 30.6% to 39% on
French cognac producer Remy Martin and other European brandies
after a majority of E.U. countries approved duties on electric
vehicles made in China.
Exemptions include French producers Pernod Ricard, Remy
Cointreau and Hennessy.
In a written statement, Barrot praised the “broad scope of
exemptions” as “a positive step for many players in the cognac
and armagnac industry."
He noted that “several important points remain unresolved, in
particular the exclusion of certain players from the scope of
exemptions."
"We remain fully committed to finding a definitive solution,
based on the conditions that existed prior to the
investigation," Barrot added.
Wang’s European tour comes ahead of a China-EU summit to be
focused on trade later this month in Beijing.
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