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.”
ad
A group of climate protesters have been arrested in Germany after breaking into an airport and gluing themselves to the runway.
Six activists broke through security fencing at Munich airport in the German state of Bavaria on Saturday, according to the news outlet dpa.
Approximately sixty flights were canceled after the half-dozen protesters glued themselves to the tarmac, forcing officials to temporarily close the airport.
CLIMATE ACTIVISTS ARRESTED FOR BLOCKING AIRSTRIP IN MASSACHUSETTS
Climate activists lie on an access road for runways at the Munich airport. German officials and local media say authorities closed down Munich airport temporarily after six climate activists broke through a security fence and glued themselves to access routes leading to runways. ( (Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa via AP))
An additional fourteen flights into Munich were forced to divert to other nearby airports to avoid the disruption.
Climate protest coalition Last Generation took credit for the stunt, claiming it was intended to draw attention to the German government’s inaction on the airline industry’s environmental impact.
CLIMATE GROUP TAKES RESPONSIBILITY FOR US OPEN CHAOS, OFFERS WARNING: ‘NO TENNIS ON A DEAD PLANET’
Climate activists stuck to a runway access road at Franz-Josef-Strauß Airport early Saturday morning. Climate protection activists paralyzed Munich Airport after breaking into the inner area of the airport grounds. The activists from the group Last Generation were protesting flying, the most polluting form of transportation, said the German news agency dpa on Saturday. (Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/picture alliance via Getty Images)
All six protesters were arrested and charged by law enforcement.
“Trespassing in the aviation security area is no trivial offense. Over hundreds of thousands of passengers were prevented from a relaxed and punctual start to their Pentecost holiday,” German Airports Association General Manager Ralph Beisel told dpa.
Police and firefighters stand on a runway access road at Franz-Josef-Strauß Airport around climate activists who have stuck themselves there. According to their own statements, members of the so-called Last Generation had planned to enter the airport grounds in order to block at least one of the two runways. (Photo: Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa (Photo by Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/picture alliance via Getty Images))
“Such criminal actions threaten air traffic and harm climate protection because they only cause lack of understanding and anger,” German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser wrote about the protests on social media platform X.
The Munich incident was just one of many similar protests around the world against air transportation. Last Generation has performed at least two similar airport disruptions in Germany since last year.
Freezing hundreds of billions of dollars in lenders’ assets was part of dispute over gas project halted by sanctions.
A Russian court has ordered the seizure of the assets, accounts, property and shares of Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank in the country as part of a lawsuit involving the German banks, court documents showed.
The banks are among the guarantor lenders under a contract for the construction of a gas processing plant in Russia with the German company Linde. The project was terminated due to Western sanctions.
European banks have largely exited Russia after Moscow launched its offensive on Ukraine in 2022.
A court in St Petersburg ruled in favour of seizing 239 million euros ($260m) from Deutsche Bank, documents dated May 16 showed.
Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt said it had already provisioned about 260 million euros ($283m) for the case.
“We will need to see how this claim is implemented by the Russian courts and assess the immediate operational impact in Russia,” the bank added in a statement.
The court also seized the assets of Commerzbank, another German financial institution, worth 93.7 million euros ($101.85m) as well as securities and the bank’s building in central Moscow.
The bank is yet to comment on the case.
In a parallel lawsuit on Friday, the Russian court also ordered UniCredit’s assets, accounts and property, as well as shares in two subsidiaries, to be seized. The ruling covered 462.7 million euros ($503m) in assets.
UniCredit said it “has been made aware” of the decision and was “reviewing” the situation in detail. The bank was one of the most exposed European banks when Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine, with a large local subsidiary operating in Russia.
It began preliminary discussions on a sale last year, but the talks have not advanced. Chief executive Andrea Orcel said UniCredit wants to leave Russia, but added that gifting an operation worth three billion euros ($3.3bn) was not a good way to respect the spirit of Western sanctions on Moscow over the conflict.
Russia has faced heavy Western sanctions, including on its banking sector, since the start of the war in Ukraine. Dozens of US and European companies have also stopped doing business in the country.
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley defends 'friend' Harrison Butker after 'out of touch' left's 'absurd meltdown'
Arizona man arrested after faking death to avoid registering as sex offender: 'Nice try'
Planned Parenthood suffers loss in legal challenge to South Carolina's fetal heartbeat law
New York priest says Pentecost is a reminder the Holy Spirit is 'alive and at work'
2 men from L.A., 2 from Las Vegas arrested for allegedly selling fentanyl, cocaine, on dark web
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
At least 2 dead as tornadoes hit Alabama, damage homes across Southeast
London mayor urges foreign leaders to condemn Trump as racist, sexist, homophobic
Russian court seizes two European banks’ assets amid Western sanctions
Six-month-old baby shot repeatedly during Arizona standoff with child’s father
Youngkin vetoes slew of Virginia bills, including contraception access measure
Brussels, my love? Transparency over MEPs' side jobs
-
Education1 week agoVideo: Police Use Pepper Spray on Protesters on G.W.U.’s Campus
-
Politics1 week agoOhio AG defends letter warning 'woke' masked anti-Israel protesters they face prison time: 'We have a society'
-
Finance1 week agoSpring Finance Forum 2024: CRE Financiers Eye Signs of Recovery
-
Politics1 week agoBiden’s decision to pull Israel weapons shipment kept quiet until after Holocaust remembrance address: report
-
World7 days agoIndia Lok Sabha election 2024 Phase 4: Who votes and what’s at stake?
-
News1 week agoThe Major Supreme Court Cases of 2024
-
News1 week agoTornadoes tear through the southeastern U.S. as storms leave 3 dead
-
World1 week agoA look at Chinese investment within Hungary