SHANGHAI: China’s Commerce Ministry issued its final ruling on brandy originating in the European Union on Friday (Jul 4), implementing duties of up to 34.9 per cent for a period of five years starting from Jul 5, 2025, the ministry said in statement.
Some companies that had made minimum price commitments, including Pernod Ricard-owned Martell & Co and Remy Cointreu’s Remy Martin, will be spared the higher tariff rate, according to the announcement, unless those commitments were breached.
The ruling follows an investigation into European brandy, most of it cognac from France, first launched last year.
French cognac makers have complained they are collateral damage in a broader trade row between Brussels and Beijing over import tariffs imposed on China-made electric vehicles.
China implemented the duties on cognac following an earlier investigation last year into brandy imports, after the European Union accused Beijing of giving its auto industry unfair subsidies and imposed duties on imports of Chinese-made EVs.
Monthly cognac exports to China, the world’s most valuable market for the spirit, have fallen by as much as 70 per cent due to the trade dispute, according to data from the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC), an industry body.
Last week Reuters reported that French cognac makers had reached a tentative deal on minimum import prices for the Chinese market, but that China would only finalise the deal if progress was made regarding EU tariffs on Chinese-made EVs.
The news will likely be welcomed by brandy distillers that have also seen sales slow in the United States, the world’s biggest cognac market by volume, as a result of inflation and economic uncertainty.
