China slaps provisional duties on EU brandy in retaliatory trade strike

Beijing will impose provisional measures against imports of European brandy starting this week, the Chinese Commerce Ministry announced Tuesday, in a first retaliatory move after EU countries voted last week to slap duties on Chinese electric vehicles.

The announcement is a U-turn from an earlier declaration in August when China temporarily decided against provisional duties, while Brussels and Beijing negotiated to find a solution on the EV dispute.

As of Friday, Oct. 11, importers will have to provide a so-called corresponding security deposit to Chinese customs when importing brandies originating in the EU, the ministry said in the statement.

The move mainly targets French luxury cognac brands, after Paris was viewed as the primary supporter of the European Commission’s investigation into Chinese electric vehicles, and voted in favor of imposing duties on EVs in a vote last Friday.

Other European agriculture sectors, such as dairy and pork, fear similar measures.

Ten EU countries voted in favor of the duties, including the Netherlands, Italy and Poland, and risk being more exposed to China’s retaliation. Germany and Hungary, on the other hand, were among the five countries to vote against the duties.

The brandy sector has repeatedly warned that it shouldn’t become a hostage of geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Brussels.