During his visit to Paris last May, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, he gave his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinpingtwo bottles of cognac: a Henessy XO and a precious Louis XIII from Rémy Martin. A peace offer after the Beijing government had already opened an investigation anti-dumping against EU brandy, which in Brussels has always been interpreted as a retaliation for European tariffs against Chinese electric cars.
Macron’s gesture ultimately had no effect. Four days after EU countries approved the sustainability of these surcharges of up to 36.3% on Chinese vehicles, The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced its own additional customs duties on European brandy on Tuesday. The open trade war between the EU and China is one step closer.
The new tariffs, which affect France almost exclusively, range between 30.6% and 39% of the value of spirits. The measure is provisional: Importers must post a deposit with the Chinese customs agency for the tariff amount, starting this Friday.
[Bruselas acusa a Sánchez de “debilitar” a la UE con su viraje sobre los aranceles a los coches eléctricos chinos]
France is the country which has put the most pressure on the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyento launch an investigation against Chinese electric cars a year ago. During last Friday’s vote, Paris was also among 10 member states that supported the tariffs. On the other hand, Spain went from yes to abstention after Pedro Sánchez’s recent visit to Beijing.
“Commission to challenge before World Trade Organization the announcement of the imposition of provisional anti-dumping measures by China on brandy imports from the EU. “We believe these measures are unfounded and we are determined to defend European industry against the abuse of trade defense instruments,” trade spokesman Olof Gill said.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce had already completed its investigation into European brandy at the end of August. Their conclusion was that this liquor was sold in China at a price lower than its cost price, which threatened cause “substantial harm” to Chinese domestic producers. However, at the time, Beijing refrained from imposing tariff surcharges pending Brussels’ decision on electric cars.
China has also opened investigations against dairy products and pork imported from the European Union. The latter is the one that could affect Spain the most if ultimately Beijing also decides to impose tariff surcharges.
For now, Brussels and Beijing have committed to continuing dialogue to find a negotiated solution to the dispute over Chinese electric cars. The alternative to tariff surcharges would be for Asian manufacturers to set a minimum price on its sales in the EU which compensates for the level of subsidies received. But all offers made so far have been rejected by the Commission as insufficient.
The final tariffs will come into force on November 1 for a period of five years, but they could be removed if an agreement is finally reached to avoid an all-out trade war.
