A vendor stands near cognac bottles at a liquor store in Beijing on July 4, 2025. Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images
China will impose duties of up to 34.9 percent on European brandy for five years starting July 5, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Certain major producers will be exempt if they agree to maintain prices above a minimum threshold.
The decision, published in several documents on the ministry’s website on July 4, follows a year-long investigation launched in January 2024. French officials have described the move as “pure retaliation” against the European Union’s tariff hikes on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs).
