China announced on Thursday (Aug 29) that it will not impose temporary anti-dumping measures on cognac imported from the European Union (EU), despite the results of an investigation that concluded the bloc had applied anti-dumping measures.
The trade ministry said in a statement that EU spirits sellers sold wine spirits to their market (1.4 billion consumers) at a margin of between 30.6% and 39%, impacting their domestic market.
China has put pressure on the 27 member states to reject the European Commission’s proposal to introduce additional customs duties of up to 36.3% on Chinese-made electric vehicles.
This decision not to impose additional customs duties on cognac could therefore be seen as a strategy by China to convince the EU to reduce its taxes on electric vehicles.
“Cautious” attitude towards China
Shares in French spirits makers Rémy Cointreau and Pernod Ricard rose around 8% after the announcement. Trading in Italian Campari was automatically halted in Milan after the stock rose 4.5%.
Asked about this announcement, Pernod Ricard’s president and CEO, Alexandre Ricard, declined to comment in detail but said the group maintains a positive attitude “cautious” towards China.
In addition to spirits, Beijing has in recent months launched anti-competitive investigations into dairy products and pork from the EU. The investigation into dairy products was launched last week, a day after Brussels published its tariff plan.
