The EU Commission said on Monday it had formally brought the provisional anti-dumping measures imposed by China on imports of EU brandy to the World Trade Organization, the latest development amid trade tensions between the two blocs.
France's trade ministry said last month it would work with the European Commission to challenge Beijing's tariffs, which came after the European Union voted for duties on Chinese-made electric vehicles.
China's commerce ministry said it had received an EU consultation request and would handle the matter according to WTO rules.
"The provisional anti-dumping measures were implemented based on Chinese law, at the request of domestic industries, after a fair and impartial investigation, and are legitimate trade remedies fully in line with WTO rules," the ministry said.
France, whose producers including LVMH (LVMH.PA) , Remy Cointreau (RCOP.PA) and PernodRicard (PERP.PA), export huge amounts of spirits to the Asian country, was seen as the main targets of the brandy tariffs following Paris's outspoken support of the Commission's efforts to protect the domestic EV market.
French President Emmanuel Macron previously called China's brandy probe "pure retaliation".
