China extends EU brandy anti-dumping investigation by three months

BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s commerce ministry stated on Wednesday it could prolong its anti-dumping investigation into brandy originating from the European Union by three months, lower than the complete extension allowed below its earlier steerage.

The probe, which was launched on Jan. 5 and on account of be accomplished in a 12 months, shall be prolonged to April 5 as a result of “complexity” of the investigation, the ministry stated in a short assertion, with out elaborating.

The ministry beforehand stated the probe could possibly be prolonged by six months below particular circumstances.

Preliminary findings from the probe have proven dumping of EU brandy threatens to wreck China’s sector, the ministry stated in October because it imposed short-term measures on EU brandy imports, hitting French manufacturers together with Hennessy and Remy Martin.

The probe was broadly seen as the result of France’s help of EU tariffs on China-made electrical automobiles. French President Emmanuel Macron beforehand referred to as the probe “pure retaliation”.

The Chinese language measures require China’s importers to pay safety deposits of practically 40% in the event that they want to import brandy from the bloc, making it extra expensive upfront to ship brandy from the EU.

France’s commerce ministry beforehand referred to as the Chinese language measures “incomprehensible”, and that that they had violated free commerce.

Final month, the EU Fee stated it had formally introduced the provisional Chinese language anti-dumping measures to the World Commerce Group.

French brandy shipments to China reached $1.7 billion final 12 months and accounted for 99% of the nation’s imports of the spirit.