PARIS (Reuters) – French cognac makers say the level of dumping China is basing its investigation into wine spirits imported from the European Union (EU) is “singularly low” for a investigation of this magnitude.
According to the National Interprofessional Cognac Bureau (BNIC), which represents French manufacturers, Beijing assesses the supposed dumping of European brandy at 15.88%, a level which “appears to be singularly low compared to what generally seems to be used to justify a anti-dumping investigation.
“This perhaps raises the question of the real objective of the approach,” the BNIC told Reuters.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced on Friday the launch of an anti-competitive investigation into wine spirits, such as cognac, imported from the EU.
This news set back French spirits groups, such as Remy Cointreau and Pernod Ricard, on the Paris Stock Exchange on Friday.
The inter-professional office believes that the chosen level of dumping will allow cognac players to demonstrate that their “commercial practices are fully compliant with Chinese and international regulations”.
(Reporting Dominique Vidalon; French version Kate Entringer)
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