World
China to investigate EU brandy imports in new anti-dumping probe
China is launching an anti-dumping probe into imports of brandy from the European Union, a move which follows the bloc’s trade inquiry into Chinese electric vehicles.
The Chinese ministry of commerce said Friday that the investigation comes after complaints were made by the country’s alcoholic beverages association on behalf of a domestic brand.
An anti-dumping probes involves investigating whether a country is importing products at a price below fair market value.
A spokesperson on behalf of the European Commission confirmed that the investigation concerned “spirits (commonly known as brandy) products derived from distilled wines originating in the European Union.”
“We are now assessing the documentation we have received, and will intervene in the framework of the investigation, as appropriate, in close cooperation with the EU industry concerned,” the EU executive’s spokesperson for trade, Olof Gill, said.
French cognac is expected to be the main target of the investigation. The announcement saw the shares of French spirits companies such as Pernod Ricard SA and Remy Cointreau SA plummet. Both are parent companies of popular cognac brands including Hennessy, Remy Martin and Martell.
The move is seen as a response to the EU’s anti-subsidy inquiry into Chinese-made electric vehicles, announced during European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s annual State of the Union speech in October.
The EU is concerned that Beijing’s import restrictions and generous subsidies for China-based firms are putting European companies at an unfair disadvantage, inflating the bloc’s massive trade deficit with Beijing.
Cheap Chinese electric vehicles have recently flooded the EU market, undercutting domestic producers and presenting an existential threat to Europe’s car industry.
“Global markets are now flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars. And their price is kept artificially low by huge state subsidies. This is distorting our market,” von der Leyen said in October. “And as we do not accept this distortion from the inside in our market, we do not accept this from the outside.”
France had been the leading voice amongst the EU’s 27 member state in advocating for the inquiry, as its leading domestic carmaker Renault called on Europe to act in response to China’s aggressive competition.
The Chinese response is seen as modest, given that liquor imports from the EU to China represents only a small fraction of the value of Beijing’s electric vehicle exports to the EU.
But it does mark a symbolic development in the ongoing EU-China trade spat.
European Union leaders reiterated their warning to China that it should play according to trade tules during a December EU-China summit in Beijing.
President von der Leyen said during the trip that the EU would “not tolerate that our (the EU’s) industrial base is undermined by unfair competition,” but also said both sides had agreed that trade between them should be balanced.
Chinese President Xi Jinping also expressed during the summit that he wanted Beijing and Brussels to cooperate as mutually beneficial partners.
The Asian giant is the EU’s biggest trading partner, with trade in goods amounting to a staggering €2.3 billion every day.
But EU imports from China now exceed its exports by almost €400 billion. This deficit has grown tenfold in the past 20 years and doubled over the past two years. According to von der Leyen, “such imbalances are just unsustainable.”
By Euronews with AFP
Published on
Two whales were killed off the coast of Iceland overnight Sunday, two days after commercial hunting resumed, local media and animal rights activists reported Monday.
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The kill ends a two-year pause and marks the first catches since 2023.
Icelandic public broadcaster RUV reported that two fin whales were killed. The fin whale is the second largest animal on Earth after the blue whale.
Before the vessels set off on Friday, a protester had attached himself to one of the masts in the port of Reykjavik, but climbed down and was escorted away by police.
Iceland, Norway and Japan are the only three countries that still openly permit whaling, despite international condemnation from the public and animal welfare organisations.
Iceland cancelled its whale hunt over the past two years, partly because economic problems had cut demand and the industry was not deemed profitable enough.
“The first fin whale deaths in Iceland’s hunt this year are devastating,” said Joanna Swabe, European senior public affairs director for animal rights group Humane World for Animals.
“Iceland has killed more than 1,000 fin whales in the past two decades — not only the second largest animal on the planet but also a species classified as globally vulnerable to extinction,” Swabe said in a statement.
Iceland’s government has said it is planning to introduce a bill aimed at banning whaling this autumn.
The International Whaling Commission banned the commercial killing of whales in 1986 amid alarm at the declining stock of the marine mammals.
Iceland’s Marine and Freshwater Research Institute has recommended that no more than 150 fin whales are caught in the 2026 season.
That represents a 28-percent drop on the annual quota it recommended for the period 2018–2025, it said.
The institute has set an annual catch of 168 animals for the minke whale hunt this year, a 23-percent drop on 2018-2025.
Paramount+ has commissioned a docuseries about shamed “X Factor” judge Tulsa from Dorothy Street Pictures, the producers behind Victoria Beckham doc “Victoria” and Pamela Anderson doc “Pamela: A Love Story.”
Tentatively titled “Tulisa: The Reckoning,” the unscripted series will follow the former pop star and talent show judge as she reflects on her journey, from her humble beginnings to soaring success as the frontwoman for the band N-Dubz, her pivot to “X Factor” judge and the scandal that saw her career come crashing down.
In 2013 an undercover U.K. tabloid journalist nicknamed the “Fake Sheikh” tricked the singer into “setting up a cocaine deal” which saw her arrested and charged. The trial collapsed after the journalist was found to have tampered with evidence (he was later convicted of perverting the course of justice).
Tulisa later revealed she had been entrapped by the journalist, who claimed he could bag her a role in a movie worth £3.5 million.
Although she was never convicted, Tulisa lost endorsements and jobs, including the “X Factor” gig and effectively disappeared from public life.
As well as telling her story, the three-part docuseries will follow the singer’s campaign for media regulation.
“This isn’t just a story of survival, it’s a reckoning,” reads the synopsis for the docuseries. “After years of reflection, Tulisa is ready to confront and change the system that once brought her down.”
Tulisa says of the project: “For years, so much has been said about me, but not always by me. This series is about taking back control of my story and speaking openly about everything I’ve been through, not just for myself, but for anyone who’s had similar experiences in the media spotlight.”
“Tulisa: The Reckoning” (working title) is set to land on Paramount+ in 2026.
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JOHANNESBURG — In what’s being hailed as a major win for the Trump administration against Chinese domination of the rare earth minerals market, the U.S. has supported an American company, Virtus Minerals, in developing two major mines producing cobalt and copper in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
This is claimed to be the first U.S. rare earth minerals acquisition in the African nation since President Donald Trump announced the Washington Accord last December.
Historically, China has been the heavy lifter of these metals. The Strategic Studies Institute reported that 80% of the world’s cobalt is produced in the DRC — and 80% of that is controlled by China. Cobalt, used in a wide range of applications, from electric cars and mobile phones to military jets, is on the U.S. government’s list of critical minerals. Copper, also on the list, has traditional uses such as piping for plumbing, but is also needed in electronics and the automotive industry.
President Donald Trump attends a signing ceremony with Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace in Washington on Dec. 4, 2025. (Evan Vucci/AP)
During December’s signing at the White House, Trump made clear the administration’s fight to curb Chinese domination of minerals and help American mining companies make a major impact in the DRC. “A great day for Africa, a great day for the world,” Trump said. The accord also aims to bring an end to fighting between the DRC and Rwandan-backed forces, although the Rwandan-supported M23 rebel group have continued their hostile infiltration in the Eastern DRC.
American mining company Virtus is, with U.S. support, claiming to be “the first U.S.-owned operator back in the DRC in more than a decade”, with its investment in Chemaf, a local cobalt and copper producer with two mining operations, one, Étoile, in Lubumbashi and Mutoshi, in Kolwezi. Together it’s planned the mines will produce a combined 75,000 tonnes of copper, and 20,000 tonnes of cobalt a year. The processing plants are currently under development and will come online next year.
Virtus Minerals CEO and Chamaf Chairman. Phillip Braun, the Chargé d’Affaires U.S. Embassy Kinshasa Ian J. McCary, and Chemaf Managing Director Sooryanarayanan Prabhakaran cutting the ribbon of the new mine. (Virtus Minerals / Chemaf)
The minerals will ultimately be exported to the west through the Lobito Corridor to a port in Angola. Lobito is the rail route the U.S. has backed with a $5 billion investment commitment, with, according to a Virtus statement, “the aim of obtaining a secure, auditable copper and cobalt supply chain for the U.S. and its allies.”
THE WEST STILL DOESN’T GRASP THE DANGER OF CHINA’S RARE EARTH ENDGAME
Frans Cronje, president of the Washington-based Yorktown Foundation for Freedom, says the Virtus projects are significant because they show the administration is seriously trying to change the balance in a minerals battle with China.
He told Fox News Digital, “This development signals a more assertive United States effort to compete with China for access to Africa’s critical mineral base, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where cobalt and copper are strategically vital to global energy and defense supply chains.”
The U.S. and DRC flags fly outside Chemaf’s site in Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Virtus Minerals / Chemaf)
Cronje added, “China has built deep structural dominance across much of Africa’s resource sector over the past two decades, but U.S.-backed initiatives such as this suggest a shift towards more direct engagement, rather than relying on Chinese-controlled supply routes. This matters because Africa’s vast resource endowment, combined with its geostrategic position along key Atlantic and Indian Ocean corridors, makes it central to future global economic and security competition.”
A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “President Trump and Secretary Rubio remain firmly committed to supporting U.S. companies that seek to do business in the DRC.”
AFRICAN WAR-TORN NATION INVOKES TRUMP ‘GOLDEN AGE’ FOR MINERALS DEAL IN EXCHANGE FOR BOOTING VIOLENT REBELS
Chemaf’s site in Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Virtus Minerals / Chemaf)
“The United States government fully supports the efforts of Virtus Minerals,” the spokesperson continued. “This acquisition serves as an initial flagship U.S. investment in the DRC, and sends a clear signal that the U.S. private sector interest is real and will catalyze further investment in alignment with the U.S.-DRC Strategic Partnership Agreement, which positions the DRC to play an integral role in the Trump Administration’s global efforts to secure critical mineral supply chains.”
The spokesperson added that “increased U.S. investment will create quality jobs for American and Congolese workers, foster skills development and support local communities that have long been exploited by the opaque systems constructed and perpetuated by adversarial foreign actors who have controlled the DRC’s critical minerals sector.”
Cobalt and Copper mined from Chemaf’s Etoile site in Lubumbashi, DRC. (Virtus Minerals / Chemaf)
Virtus holds 56 mining licenses in total in the DRC. Phillip Braun, Virtus Minerals CEO and Chemaf chairman, told Fox News Digital, “Our first goal is to bring the Étoile and Mutoshi plants up to full production. From there, we will explore everything Chemaf’s 56 mining permits have to offer — copper, cobalt and other metals like tungsten.”
“None of this would be possible,” Braun added, “without the strong partnership now growing between the United States and the DRC, and the support of leaders in both countries who saw what was possible. We look forward to bringing our two nations closer by building a steady, trusted supply of the minerals we depend on and supporting other American companies that want to invest in the DRC any way we can.”
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“A more active U.S. presence in these supply chains,” Cronje continued, “would mark a significant rebalancing of influence on the continent, with implications not only for resource access but for broader geopolitical alignment in regions that are becoming increasingly contested.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the DRC government for comment, but did not receive a response.
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