France says 'major issues' remain despite brandy price accord with China

eNCA

20 hours ago

PARIS - France on Friday praised China's steps to settle a trade dispute over European brandy imports but warned that "major issues" remained unresolved.
The signs of a thaw in the row over the alcohol came as China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi met French President Emmanuel Macron and Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris.
In recent months China and the European Union have butted heads over Beijing's generous subsidies for its domestic industries.
Beijing launched an investigation last year into EU brandy, months after the bloc undertook a probe into Chinese electric vehicle (EV) subsidies.
In the latest salvo, China will from Saturday require European brandy exporters to raise prices or risk anti-dumping taxes of up to 34.9 percent.
Beijing said 34 European brandy makers, including several French cognac producers, had signed an accord to avoid tariffs as long as they stick to an agreed minimum price.
France's cognac makers' association BNIC, which includes key producers Hennessy, Remy Cointreau and Martell, confirmed that some companies had agreed to price increases in China to avoid anti-dumping taxes.
Macron and Barrot praised China's steps to resolve the dispute but stressed they would discuss the outstanding differences with Wang.
In a statement to AFP, Barrot said: "Several major issues remain unresolved, in particular the exclusion of certain players from the scope of the exemptions."
"We remain fully committed to reaching a definitive solution based on the conditions that existed prior to the investigation," he said.
Wang has held fraught meetings in several European countries this week.
After meeting Macron and Barrot, Wang told a press conference: "The two sides had in-depth, active and sincere exchanges on Sino-French and European relations."
No mention was made of the brandy dispute.