China-EU trade tensions rise as Beijing levies anti-dumping tariffs on European cognac
his European tour seeking to resolve trade disputes and improve ties amid a reshuffle of global trade dynamics introduced by the United States.
Advertisement
'There is dumping of related imported brandy from the EU, the domestic brandy industry faces a material threat of injury, and there is a causal relationship between the dumping and the material injury threat. The determined dumping margins range from 27.7 per cent to 34.9 per cent,' China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.
The tariffs will be effective from Saturday, and there will be no retroactive imposition of anti-dumping duties on imports of the relevant brandy originating from the EU, from October 11 up to and including Friday.
'Beijing has been holding back from actually levying duties in the hope of a softer EU stance on China,' said Xu Tianchen, senior China economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit. 'Now it's clearly disappointed by the EU playing hardball despite the Chinese overture.'
China's foreign minister was set to visit Paris on his tour, and the tariff announcement came a day before the July 5 deadline when China's anti-dumping investigation was supposed to conclude. Wang's trip has also been seen as preparation for the China-EU summit later this month.
Advertisement
The French foreign and trade ministries did not immediately respond to the Post's request for comments.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Why Singapore's identity demanded distance from China – and its own story of nationhood
In his new memoir Ink and Influence: An OB Markers Sequel, Cheong Yip Seng reflects on the intersection of geopolitics, media, and identity through the lens of his long career as editor-in-chief of The Straits Times. In this excerpt, Cheong recounts a revealing moment during an official visit to China in 1976 with then-prime minister Lee Kuan Yew . Among the officials present was S.R. Nathan, later Singapore 's sixth president, who witnessed Lee subtly rebuff a Chinese attempt to influence the city state's foreign alignment. Advertisement S.R. Nathan was in the delegation. Later, he told me this story: During Lee Kuan Yew's (LKY) talks with the Chinese, his hosts gave him a book, India's China War. It was written by Neville Maxwell, a journalist and Oxford academic. The book was a pro-China version of the border war between India and China. LKY knew the Chinese purpose: It was trying to draw Singapore into its orbit. According to S.R., LKY put the book aside, and responded, saying words to this effect: This is your version. There is another version of the war. That left a deep impression on S.R. 'I was so proud of what the PM did.' Singapore would not be drawn to take sides. It was also a demonstration of LKY's commitment to multiracialism. Veteran diplomat S.R. Nathan in Singapore in 1999, shortly before he became the country's sixth president. Photo: AFP Three-quarters of Singaporeans are ethnic Chinese. Hence, Singapore is seen in some quarters in Indonesia and Malaysia as a subversive Third China.
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Chinese companies must now focus on wooing consumers at home
When Chinese Premier Li Qiang addressed the World Economic Forum's 'Summer Davos' in Tianjin, China, his message was clear: China must become a 'mega-sized' consumption powerhouse . Not just the world's factory, but its market too. His words underlined Beijing's intention to make household spending a core growth engine rather than a supplement to exports. Faced with the harsh reality of steep tariffs and rising protectionism in the United States, many Chinese manufacturers are re-routing their exports from their biggest market to European and Southeastern Asian nations. This may offer short-term relief from the US-China trade war , but the long-term play? The domestic market. Many Chinese firms have always treated the national economy as a priority; however, fierce price competition and weak consumer confidence have made it a difficult market to scale, giving them strong incentives to boost exports. But given the global trade fragmentation, diversification alone no longer offers certainty or scale. This was illustrated by data showing China's manufacturing sector contracting for a third consecutive month in June. The home market was never a nice-to-have, but it has become more of a strategic priority . The reasons are straightforward: US tariffs remain punishing, despite a trade truce agreed on to reduce levies recently as high as 145 per cent. 02:09 China, US top negotiators agree on 'framework' that will need approval from Xi and Trump China, US top negotiators agree on 'framework' that will need approval from Xi and Trump
South China Morning Post
4 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong wants more visitors? Hook them with great food, Cantopop and Bruce Lee
In the second of a two-part series on Hong Kong's efforts to boost its tourism industry, the Post takes a look at other attractions the city can offer beyond the nine hotspot products the government has floated. Read part one here Even as Hong Kong has kick-started efforts to promote nine 'tourism hotspots' identified by a government working group, industry players and experts say the city has much more to entice visitors. To revive the city's flagging tourism scene, they suggested tapping its rich culinary traditions, exploiting the appeal of Cantopop and the popularity of Hong Kong action films from the past, and telling more stories about its places and people. Bring back and celebrate the dai pai dong and cha chaan teng, declared veteran entertainment and hospitality entrepreneur Allan Zeman, founder and chairman of the Lan Kwai Fong Group. Once found everywhere and famous for tasty, cheap food cooked on the spot, streetside hawker stalls known as dai pai dong have been disappearing. Amid concerns over hygiene and noise, the authorities tightened the rules and have not issued new licences since the 1970s. Even so, local cafes or cha chaan teng continue to serve up comfort food and drinks at wallet-friendly prices, drawing a steady stream of customers looking for milk tea with pineapple buns, egg tarts, scrambled eggs and toast, a fried pork chop and rice or macaroni soup, and more.
