Beijing Targets European Brandy Following Electric Vehicle Subsidy Dispute

Chinese authorities earlier this month initiated an anti-dumping investigation against brandy liquor imported from the European Union (EU), a move seen as a “tit-for-tat” response to an EU probe into Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles (EVs). The European Commission pushed ahead with an anti-subsidy probe into Chinese EV imports in September, accusing China’s massive state subsidies of artificially depressing the price of EVs and accordingly distorting market competition. The EU probe would probably lead to punitive tariffs on Chinese EVs. Countering the EU’s move, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced on Jan.5 that an anti-dumping investigation on EU-made liquors started on the same day and was expected to last up to 24 or 30 months. It explicitly stated that this investigation was conducted at the request of the China Alcoholic Drinks Association, which is said to have filed the petition late last year....