The Cognac industry in France is a collateral victim of the taxation of Chinese electric vehicles in Europe. From Shanghai in China, Sophie Primas, the Minister for Foreign Trade, declared that negotiations remained “clearly open” with Beijing on potential Chinese customs surcharges targeting this alcohol.
If Sophie Primas assured that she had an “extremely firm” speech with her Chinese counterpart, she stressed to the press that “France is for negotiations, obviously”. “We are not in an escalation of a trade war and therefore we must enter into negotiations,” she noted.
In France, the cognac inter-profession considers itself “sacrificed” by the government, which firmly supported the imposition by the EU of additional customs duties on electric cars imported from China, definitively confirmed last week by Brussels.
In response to this measure, China is threatening to overtax European brandies (wine-based spirits), of which cognac represents 95% of the total. Since mid-October, Beijing has already required importers to deposit a deposit with Chinese customs.
A discussion between Macron and Xi on this subject?
“We are going to have a three-way discussion between cognac producers, the French State and the European Union, specifically on this market,” added Sophie Primas.
According to her, Head of State Emmanuel Macron should address this issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the next G20 summit in mid-November in Brazil. For his part, Prime Minister Michel Barnier must also organize meetings with his Chinese counterpart.
During his meeting with Sophie Primas, Wang Wentao pleaded for the search for a consensus between Beijing and Brussels on electric vehicles, according to a press release from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. “France, as an important EU member state, should play an active role in encouraging the European Commission to demonstrate sincerity” and “achieve a solution acceptable” to all, he argued. .
Surcharges that could block Cognac in China
The imposition of surcharges on cognac could block this product's access to the Chinese market. “We are ready to take all possible technical and legal measures” if necessary, reported Sophie Primas.
In addition to brandies, China is also carrying out anti-dumping investigations targeting pork and dairy products imported from the EU, posing a threat to these sectors. All these procedures are taking place “in full compliance with WTO rules and Chinese laws and regulations,” assured Wang Wentao, implying that they would remain in place for the time being.
Coming to Shanghai for the China International Import Fair (CIIE), a major commercial event in the country, Sophie Primas nevertheless affirmed that she wanted to convey a message of openness. “Our industrialists, our farmers have been working with China for a very, very long time. We hope that these bilateral relations will continue to exist and continue to grow,” she noted while France has 130 companies present at this exhibition.
