EU Commission bewails 'unfair' Chinese Cognac duties

Published on 05/07/2025 - 14:10 GMT+2

China's imposition of anti-dumping duties connected European Cognac is "unfair" and "unjustified", a European Commission spokesperson said connected Friday, underscoring a downtick successful relations up of an EU-China acme scheduled for nan extremity of July.

“China’s measures are unfair, we judge they are unjustified, we judge they are inconsistent pinch nan applicable world norm and are frankincense unfounded,” Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said connected Friday.

The Asian elephantine has announced anti-dumping duties of up to 34,9% complete EU brandy for a play of 5 years starting from 5 July 2025, sparing immoderate of nan largest EU Cognac producers which had made minimum value commitments, specified arsenic Remy Cointreau, Pernod Ricard and LVMH’s Hennessy.

The Chinese launched an investigation into brandy past twelvemonth successful retaliation for tariffs imposed by nan EU connected Chinese electrical vehicles. It was followed by nan announcement of respective different investigations into EU pork and dairy products, which person not yet been closed.

Anti-dumping duties were besides imposed successful May connected immoderate EU business plastics.

Gill added that nan duties connected EU brandy were “part of a worrying shape of China abusing waste and acquisition defence instruments, starting and conducting investigations connected nan ground of questionable allegations and insufficient evidence, each this wrong a short play of time.”

This rustle to EU brandy comes arsenic immoderate media study that China has cancelled nan 2nd time of nan EU-China acme scheduled for 24 and 25 July.

The Commission’s main spokesperson Paula Pinho refused to corroborate nan cancellation, arguing that nan summit’s schedule “has not been agreed yet” by nan EU and China.

Points of contention are expanding betwixt nan two, contempt hopes for a negotiated reset calved of nan jeopardy some sides look successful nan look of  an ongoing tariff conflict pinch nan US.

The South China Morning Post reported connected Friday that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told EU’s apical diplomat Kaja Kallas it did not want to spot a Russian nonaccomplishment successful Ukraine because it feared nan US would past displacement its full attraction to Beijing.