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China threatens retaliatory tariffs on EU wines
China may target the European Union wine industry exports in response to the ongoing EU’s anti-subsidy investigations into Chinese companies, according to an update by a Chinese state-affiliated social media account.
China’s move to hit European wines would jeopardise the US$800 million wine trade between the EU and China. France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Portugal are the key EU wine exporters to China.
Earlier this year, China launched an anti-subsidy investigation into EU’s brandy, which can adversely impact a US$1.56 billion spirits trade. This follows a similar pattern to 2014 when China threatened to probe EU wines during a dispute over solar panels.
In 2021, China imposed significant tariffs on Australian wines, with tariffs reaching up to 218 percent, which were lifted in March of this year.