China may target European Union wine, dairy products, and aviation exports in response to ongoing EU anti-subsidy investigations into Chinese companies, according to a post made this weekend by a Chinese state-affiliated social media account. This move could jeopardize the US$800 million wine trade between the EU and China.
Though China’s wine impports from the EU have contracted in the past few years, the threatened countermeasures could still affect over US$777 million worth of EU wines, nearly 70% of China’s total wine imports last year, as per official data.
France, Italy, Spain, Germany, and Portugal are key EU wine exporters to China, with France alone accounting for close to half of these exports.
The social media account, Yuyuan Tantian (玉渊谭天), known for its political commentary and ties to state-owned CCTV, cited “informed sources” to warn that “China has ample countermeasures ready and will likely retaliate if the EU persists with its actions.”
A Chinese lawyer quoted by Yuyuan Tantian highlighted the EU wine, dairy, and aviation sectors’ dependence on the Chinese market. The European Chamber of Commerce in China echoed these sentiments in a statement reported by Bloomberg. It described the warning as “significant” and suggested that “European wine and dairy products may find themselves caught in the crossfire.”
The EU has initiated three major investigations this year targeting Chinese companies in the railway, solar, and security sectors under a new foreign subsidies regulation, and has also begun a trade probe into Chinese-made electric vehicles.
Earlier this year, in January, China launched an anti-subsidy investigation into EU brandy, which threatens 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 has also imposed significant tariffs on Australian wines, with tariffs reaching up to 218%, although these were lifted in late March of this year.
Discover more from Vino Joy News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
