China will levy duties of up to 34.9% for a period of five years from July 5, 2025 on brandy originating in the European Union, most of it cognac from France, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a final ruling.
Beijing launched its anti-dumping probe on EU brandy in January last year, in what was widely viewed as retaliation for the EU's decision to impose hefty import tariffs on China-made EVs.
In addition to the reprieve, China's commerce ministry will also give back deposits made by brandymakers since October 2024, when provisional duties were imposed. The refund issue, which weighed particularly heavily on smaller producers, was one of the sticking points in months-long negotiations, two industry sources said.
Even so, an EU spokesperson said the tariffs were unfair and unjustified.
Wang was due to meet his French counterpart in Paris later on Friday.
Pernod Ricard said it regrets the increase in the cost of operating in China but additional costs are significantly less than would be the case if tariffs had been made permanent.
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Monthly cognac exports to China, the world's most valuable market for the spirit, have fallen by as much as 70% due to the trade dispute, according to data from the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC), a French cognac industry group.
European spirits makers have also been grappling with a downturn in sales in the United States where inflation has deterred drinkers from pricier spirits. President Donald Trump has also threatened tariffs on imports from the EU.
“The French government has been raising this repeatedly with the Chinese government and saying this is a major bone of contention,“ said a senior French industry source with knowledge of the China negotiations, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.
BNIC said that the deal for minimum price commitments will be “less unfavourable” than anti-dumping duties, but still worse for its members than the historical pre-investigation norm.
“This is why we renew our call to the French government and the European Commission to reach a political agreement with the Chinese authorities as soon as possible to return to a situation without anti-dumping duties,“ BNIC said in a statement. - Reuters
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